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BOYS  of  the  STREET 
HOW  TO  WIN  THEM 


12  MO.  CLOTH  75c.  NET 

THE     WORKINGMAN 
AND    SOCIAL    PROBLEMS 

By       CHARLES       STELZLE 

It  wins  the  reader's  confidence  by  its  grasp  of 
actual  conditions,  and  corrects  many  misconceptions. 
—  Congregationalist. 

This  work  is  the  outcome  of:  first,  several  years 
as  a  workingman ;  second,  a  series  of  circular  letters 
to  labor  leaders ;  third,  practical  work  among  work- 
ingmen,  settlement  and  city  mission  work. — Chicago 
Record- Herald. 

Clergymen,  settlement  workers,  church  members, 
laboring  men,  in  fact  every  one  who  is  interested  in 
the  workingman  and  social  problems  will  enjoy 
reading  this  book. — New  York  Observer. 

Mr.  Stelzle  was  a  real  workingman  and  knows 
the  feeling  and  aspirations  of  the  wage-workers. 
He  is  fair,  honest,  and  a  keen  observer. —  The 
Standard. 

Mr.  Stelzle  has  an  intelligent  appreciation  and 
sympathy  for  these  work-people  of  all  grades. 
"  The  common  people,  the  toilers,  the  men  of  un- 
common sense, — to  these  we  owe  a  debt  of  grati- 
tude." And  those  who  wish  really  to  help  these 
multitudes  of  men  and  women  "of  uncommon 
sense "  will  find  herein  many  admirable  sugges- 
tions.—  The  Exammer. 


BOYS  of  the  STREET 
How    to    Win    Them 


By 

CHARLES  STELZLE 

Author  of 
The  Workingman  and  Social  Problems 


New  York 


Chicago 


Toronto 


Fleming     H.    Revell    Company 
London   and   Edinburgh 


Copyright,  1904,  by 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


New  York:  158  Fifth'Avenue 
Chicago:  63  Washington  Street 
Toronto:  27  Richmond  Street,  W 
London:  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh:    30    St.    Mary   Street 


»  Hv 


"  It  is  by  the  Boys'  Club  that  the  street  is 
hardest  hit.  hi  the  fight  for  the  lad  it  is  that 
which  knocks  out  the  ^  gang  I  and  with  its 
own  weapon — the  weapon  of  organization'' 

— Jacob  A.  Riis. 


PREFACE 

I  WAS  number  "  8  "  in  the  now  famous  St. 
Mark's  Boys'  Club  of  New  York  City — the 
first  boys'  club  started  in  America.  That 
was  over  twenty  years  ago.  Since  then  I 
have  conducted  a  number  of  clubs  of  my 
own.  My  first  attempt  was  with  a  mass 
club  which  had  a  membership  of  over  five 
hundred,  and  which  was  composed  princi- 
pally of  newsboys  and  bootblacks.  This  was 
followed,  in  another  city,  by  a  group  club 
which  was  limited  to  eight  members.  Dur- 
ing the  past  five  years  my  interest  in  boys' 
work  has  been  centred  in  self-government 
clubs. 

The  material  in  this  book  is  the  result  of 
this  varied  experience.  Abstract  theories 
have  been  avoided.  Nothing  is  suggested 
but  what  has  been  actually  tested  and  found 
helpful,  either  by  myself  or  by  some  other 
practical  worker. 

The  book  is  founded  upon  a  series  of 
7 


8  Preface 

articles  written  by  the  author  for  the  Sunday- 
School  Times  and  an  article  printed  more 
recently  in  the  Outlook.  I  gratefully  ac- 
knowledge the  permission  given  by  the 
editors  of  these  papers  to  use  the  matter 
which  has  been  incorporated  into  this  book. 

Charles  Stelzle. 

Evanston,  III. 


CONTENTS 

CHAP.  TkGV, 

I.  Why  Boys'  Work  is  Needed      -  -  1 1 

II.  The  Object  of  the  Work          -  -  20 

III.  Various  Kinds  of  Clubs    -         -  -  25 

IV.  Some  Things  That  a  Club  May  Do  -  37 

V.  A  Boys'  Club  Constitution       -  -  46 

VI.  The  Headquarters  of  the  Club  -  53 

VII.  Religion  in  the  Club        -         -  -  59 

VIII.  The  Clubs'  "  Esprit  de  Corps  "  -  74 

IX.  Club  Managers         -         -         -  -  80 

X.  Some  General  Observations      -  -  88 


WHY  BOYS'  WORK  IS  NEEDED 

"  I'm  always  a-movin'  on,  sir.  I've  always 
been  a-movin'  on,  sir,  ever  since  I  was  born. 
Where  can  I  move  to,  sir,  more  nor  I  do 
move  ?" 

That  half-defiant,  half-pitiful  cry  of  poor 
Joe,  the  street  waif,  in  Dickens's  "Bleak 
House,"  in  response  to  the  policeman's  com- 
mand to  "move  on,"  is  a  cry  which  is  not 
confined  to  London  nor  to  Dickens's  time. 
It  is  heard  in  many  American  cities.  Every 
member  of  a  boys'  club  which  was  composed 
of  the  fellows  in  one  of  my  Bible  classes,  had, 
with  one  exception,  spent  at  least  one  night 
in  the  police  station  before  joining  the  club, 
guilty  of  no  greater  crime  than  that  he  had 
no  more  convenient  place  to  meet  his  friends 
than  upon  the  street  corner  or  in  front  of  his 
own  home. 

Whether  the  police  station  is  a  better  place 
for  our  boys  than  the  street  corner  is  a  ques- 
tion which  our  municipal  authorities  have 


12  Boys  of  the  Street 

apparently  decided  for  us,  but  whether  we 
agree  with  them  or  not,  it  is  iiicely  that  we 
will  unanimously  decide — and  I  think  that 
the  policeman  will  agree  with  us — that  there 
should  be  better  places  for  city  boys  than  the 
police  station. 

One  night  a  city  paper  announced  that  a 
boy  had  committed  suicide  in  a  drunken 
spree.  He  was  about  eighteen  years  of  age 
and  unknown,  and  it  was  said  that  if  any 
mother  had  such  a  boy  as  was  described  she 
might  find  her  boy  at  the  morgue.  Two 
hundred  mothers  went  to  look  at  that  face. 
Was  not  that  an  awful  commentary  ? 

A  visit  to  any  one  of  our  penitentiaries 
will  reveal  the  fact  that  the  great  majority  of 
its  inmates  are  young  men.  As  one  goes 
through  the  corridors  and  work-shops  of  the 
great  institution,  and  thinks  of  the  lost  op- 
portunities represented  in  the  wrecked  man- 
hood of  the  prisoners,  it  seems  as  though  the 
sad  words  "it  might  have  been,"  are  written 
upon  the  forehead  of  every  criminal. 

But  the  time  when  "it  might  have  been" 
was  back  in  the  boyhood  days  of  the  man 
who  is  now  hardened  in  crime.  If  he  had 
had  a  friend  to  advise  and  help  when  he  was 
beset  by  the  temptations  of  city  life,  he  might 


Why  Boys'  Work  is  Needed      13 

now  be  found  occupying  a  position  of  honour 
instead  of  wearing  tiie  prisoner's  stripes. 

The  home  no  longer  influences  the  average 
boy  as  it  did  in  the  days  when  society  had 
fewer  claims  upon  us,  and  the  problem  of 
what  is  to  become  of  the  boys  without 
parental  oversight  and  training  is  serious 
enough  in  the  refined  home.  But  what  can 
we  say  for  the  boy  who  has  no  place  that  is 
a  real  home,  but  simply  a  lodge  where  he 
spends  the  night  ? 

There  are  thousands  of  boys  in  our  cities 
whose  homes  consist  of  only  one  or  two 
small  rooms  in  a  tenement  house,  sometimes 
back  of  a  dark,  dingy  alley.  These  condi- 
tions in  our  crowded  tenements  have  more 
to  do  with  crime  and  immorality  than  will 
ever  be  known  this  side  of  the  judgment 
day.  Eighteen  persons  living  in  three  rooms, 
twelve  of  them  being  adults,  are  not  calcu- 
lated to  stimulate  high  ideals  in  the  mind  of 
the  average  boy. 

The  boy  in  such  a  home  rarely  has  the 
sympathy  of  his  father.  At  any  rate,  his 
father  is  not  always  the  help  that  he  should 
be.  If  the  boy  should  happen  to  lose  his 
"job,"  sometimes  through  no  fault  of  his 
own,  and  be  unable  to  secure  another,  the 


14  Boys  of  the  Street 

epithet  "loafer"  will  frequently  drive  him 
out  of  his  home,  and,  if  he  was  not  a  loafer 
before  he  lost  his  job,  he  is  in  a  fair  way  to 
become  one  now.  Few  of  us  are  aware  of 
the  large  number  of  young  men  who  board 
outside  of  their  own  homes,  even  when  their 
parents  live  in  the  same  city. 

The  boy  in  the  city  usually  starts  to  work 
at  fourteen.  If  he  is  large  and  strong  for  his 
age,  he  goes  to  the  factory  just  as  soon  as  he  can 
pass  for  that  age.  His  evenings  are  now  open 
to  him,  since  he  has  no  school  lessons  to  pre- 
pare. He  has  more  money  to  spend  than  he 
ever  had  before.  His  circle  of  acquaintances 
is  enlarged,  and,  ordinarily,  it  includes  some 
young  fellow  who  has  seen  something  of  the 
shady  side  of  city  life.  Going  about  town 
with  him,  and  seeing  its  gay  life,  he  begins 
to  compare  it  with  his  own  monotonous  ex- 
istence, and  it  is  a  question  of  only  a  short 
time,  usually,  when  the  slender  tie  that  binds 
him  to  his  humble  home  is  broken,  and  he 
falls  into  the  clutches  of  the  manager  of  the 
cheap  theatre,  the  saloon  keeper,  and  the 
keeper  of  the  down-town  dive. 

And  then,  too,  the  candy  store  and  the 
tobacco  shop  will  welcome  him,  especially 
if  he  wants  to  organize  a  clu)b.     I  sometimes 


Why  Boys'  Work  is  Needed       15 

marvel  at  the  apparent  coldness  of  some  of 
our  churches  in  disapproving  of  an  organiza- 
tion of  some  kind  for  their  boys,  as  though 
they  were  aliens  of  a  dangerous  type,  who 
needed  to  be  supiciously  watched,  until  the 
average  boy  comes  to  believe  that  he  is  an 
Ishmael,  against  whom  every  man's  hand  is 
turned. 

In  most  of  our  cities,  our  boys  are  attracted 
by  the  small  halls  which  may  be  found  in  the 
poorer  parts  of  the  town,  where  they  adver- 
tise "  Dancing  to-night  at  eight  o  clock,"  or  a 
"Soiree  on  Sunday  night;  Gentlemen  twenty- 
five  cents;  Ladies  free."  Or  else  they  are 
tempted  to  join  a  social  club  which  meets 
back  of  a  saloon  because  there  is  no  rent  to 
pay,  on  the  condition  that  the  members  of  the 
club  will  treat.  The  chief  function  of  the 
social  club  is  to  "  run  "  a  ball,  and  attend  the 
balls  conducted  by  other  social  clubs,  each 
striving  to  outdo  the  rest  in  the  gorgeousness 
of  the  badges  worn  by  the  floor-manager  and 
his  assistants,  or  in  the  prizes  offered  to  the 
best  dancer,  or  the  most  elegantly  dressed 
couple,  the  badges  and  prizes  being  displayed 
for  several  weeks  previous  to  the  ball,  in  a 
favoured  store  window. 
Most  of   these  social  clubs  are  a  positive 


l6  Boys  of  the  Street 

curse  to  the  boy  who  has  become  associated 
with  their  members.  The  rooms  are  open 
every  night,  and  the  new  boy  learns  more  of 
sin  in  a  single  evening,  by  sitting  about  the 
table  and  listening  to  the  coarse  and  immoral 
stories  which  are  being  told,  than  he  will 
forget  in  a  lifetime.  There  is  absolutely  no 
effort  made  to  improve  the  mind.  The 
young  men  simply  gather  at  their  headquar- 
ters to  spend  the  time  in  idle  talk,  coarse 
singing,  card-playing,  and  "  canning  "  beer. 
Of  all  the  institutions  in  our  large  cities 
which  are  sending  the  boys  down  to  destruc- 
tion, this  is  not  the  least. 

A  young  member,  in  telling  about  what 
was  done  at  one  of  these  clubs,  said:  "  They 
have  kissing  all  through  pleasure  time,  and 
use  slang  language,  and  they  don't  behave 
nice  between  young  ladies." 

It  is  unfortunate  that  the  poor  boy,  even 
when  he  would  do  right,  must  go  to  some 
cheap  "  variety  show  "  if  he  would  spend  an 
evening  of  relaxation  after  a  hard  day's 
work  in  the  shop,  because,  in  most  instances, 
there  is  no  other  place  to  which  he  could  go 
where  he  would  secure  that  diversion  which 
he  needs.  If  he  has  a  love  for  music,  he 
cannot    indulge  that    most  elevating  taste, 


Why  Boys'  Work  is  Needed      17 

unless  he  can  afford  to  spend  as  much  for  the 
concert  as  he  has  earned  in  a  whole  day. 
The  only  alternative  is  to  resort  to  the  vaude- 
ville, where  he  may  hear  fairly  good  music, 
but  where  he  must  take  with  it  so  much 
of  evil  that  the  good  is  usually  more  than 
over-balanced.  Where  else  could  he  go  in 
the  average  city  if  he  would  see  the  "  mov- 
ing pictures  "  which  have  become  so  popular  ? 

It  may  be  well  enough  to  make  the  state- 
ment that  any  boy  with  push  and  ambition 
will  find  useful  employment  during  the 
evening,  but  we  must  remember  that  not  all 
boys  have  this  push,  and  that  the  great  ma- 
jority are  only  ordinary  boys,  and  will 
be  only  ordinary  men.  But  if  they  are  to  be 
only  ordinary  men,  we  ought  to  help  them 
so  that  they  may  at  least  become  good  men. 

It  is  difficult  to  make  a  boy  realize  his  un- 
conscious needs,  when  he  is  constantly 
reminded  of  his  conscious  wants.  But 
when  you  open  one  door  to  enjoyment  and 
healthy  pleasure,  you  have  closed  a  dozen 
avenues  to  sin  and  shame. 

Jacob  Riis  once  said:  "It  is  by  the  boys' 
club  that  the  street  is  hardest  hit.  In  the 
fight  for  the  lad,  it  is  that  which  knocks  out 
the  'gang,' and  with  its  own  weapon — the 


1 8  Boys  of  the  Street 

weapon  of  organization."  Boys  are  naturally 
fond  of  organization  and  discipline.  This 
has  been  demonstrated  in  the  work  of 
the  Boys'  Brigade,  The  late  Henry  Drum- 
mond  applied  this  truth  to  the  movement  in 
his  own  country.  "  Amazing  and  preposter- 
ous illusion!"  he  declared.  "Call  these 
boys,  boys,  which  they  are,  and  ask  them  to 
sit  up  in  a  Sunday  class,  and  no  power  on 
earth  will  make  them  do  it.  Put  a  five- 
penny  cap  on  them  and  call  them  soldiers, 
which  they  are  not,  and  you  can  order  them 
about  until  midnight." 

It  is  quite  a  common  thing  to  establish  res- 
cue missions  for  the  street  boy  when  he 
has  become  a  man,  when  it  might  have  been 
a  comparatively  easy  task  to  save  his  life  as 
well  as  his  soul  twenty  years  before.  And  if 
he  cannot  tell  the  harrowing  story  of  a  ruined 
life,  it  will  not  take  away  the  power  of  his 
testimony,  neither  will  it  mar  his  influence  as 
a  citizen,  nor  make  him  less  of  a  father  or  a 
worker  in  his  life's  occupation. 

Boys'  work  is  cheap,  even  though  it  cost 
ten  times  as  much  as  is  required  to  conduct 
the  average  rescue  mission,  but  it  is  safe  to 
say  that  not  one-tenth  as  much  money  is 
spent  for  that  class  of  boys  outside  the  Sun- 


Why  Boys'  Work  is  Needed      19 

day-school  and  similar  organizations  which 
are  not  reaching  the  street  boy,  as  is  put 
into  rescue  mission  work,  which  aims  to 
reach  him  when  it  is  almost  too  late.  The 
work  is  infinitely  cheaper,  on  the  theory 
that  prevention  is  better  than  cure,  even 
though  it  may  not  show  up  so  well  in  an 
annual  report. 


II 

THE  OBJECT  OF  THE  WORK 

There  is  perhaps  no  form  of  social  work 
which  may  be  more  easily  inaugurated  than 
a  boys'  club,  but  experience  has  taught  us  that 
it  is  not  always  the  least  difficult  to  main- 
tain. 

Any  one  can  open  a  reading-room,  and 
allow  the  boys  to  flock  in.  But  this  does  not 
mean  a  boys'  club;  it  usually  means  a 
rabble,  and  ends  in  a  row.  The  almost 
inevitable  result  will  be  that  your  club-room 
will  become  the  plotting-place  for  a  gang  of 
boys  who  will  soon  become  a  nuisance  in  the 
neighbourhood,  and  your  unfeeling  fellow- 
citizens  will  present  you  with  a  petition  ask- 
ing that  your  philanthropic  enterprise  be 
discontinued. 

A  boys'  club  will  surely  fail  in  doing  its 
best  work  unless  there  is  a  definite  plan  in 
the  mind  of  the  manager  with  regard  to  the 
whole  enterprise,  and  a  definite  purpose  in 
every  entertainment  or  meeting  held.  Be- 
20 


The  Object  of  the  Work  2 1 

fore  inviting  a  boy  to  meet  you  for  the  pur- 
pose of  organizing  a  club,  it  should  be  very 
clearly  settled  in  your  own  mind  as  to  what 
shall  be  the  foundation  and  purpose  of  the 
club.  The  matter  of  determining  as  to  just 
how  this  purpose  shall  be  carried  out  is 
quite  another  thing.  One  cannot  settle  that 
in  the  beginning.  The  club  worker  will 
never  cease  thinking  about  and  planning  for 
it.  Sometimes  one  will  get  help  from  the 
boys  themselves  in  determining  one's  plans. 
However,  the  boys  will  indicate  their  need — 
which  is,  of  course,  the  factor  in  planning 
for  the  object  of  the  club — quite  uncon- 
sciously. 

It  is  a  mistake  to  confine  oneself  to  purely 
negative  work.  Keeping  the  boys  off  the 
streets  may  be  a  good  thing.  Putting  some- 
thing into  their  hearts  and  minds  which  will 
be  helpful  is  far  better. 

The  most  prominent  feature  in  many  boys' 
clubs  is  the  social  element.  In  fact,  some 
managers  have  attempted  to  carry  on  their 
work  upon  this  basis  alone,  and  they  have 
found,  invariably,  that  the  boys  could  not  be 
held  permanently  unless  something  besides 
games  and  socials  were  provided.  It  is  true 
that  in  some  crowded  neighbourhoods  an 


22  Boys  of  the  Street 

interest  has  been  maintained  in  this  way,  so 
that  the  membership  has  seemed  to  grow  to 
almost  incredible  proportions;  but  it  would 
be  found,  upon  investigation,  that  the  great 
majority  had  simply  "passed  through  "the 
club,  making  room  for  the  hundreds,  and 
sometimes  the  thousands,  who  followed. 

Some  club  managers  go  to  the  other 
extreme:  they  strive  to  build  up  a  great 
educational  institution,  rivalling  the  evening 
and  the  technical  schools  in  curriculum  and 
general  management.  This  is  also  a  mis- 
take. While  it  is  an  excellent  plan  to  es- 
tablish an  educational  institution  for  boys, 
the  manager  of  the  boys'  club  who  attempts 
it  is  departing  from  the  original  design  of 
boys'  club  work,  and  is  entering  a  field 
which  is  clearly  out  of  his  province.  The 
boys'  club  is  not  an  evening  school,  and  the 
time  and  energy  of  the  manager  might  better 
be  directed  into  other  channels,  because  he 
will  find  that  the  work  which  is  already 
being  done  in  the  evening  school  is  far 
superior  to  that  which  he  can  possibly  do. 

Work  in  a  boys'  club  should  be  largely 
inspirational.  It  should  have  for  its  supreme 
purpose  the  building  up  of  character.  And 
the  simpler  the  machinery,  the  more  effective 


The  Object  of  the  Work  23 

will  be  the  work.  Not  that  classes  may  not 
be  maintained  with  profit.  But  the  real 
benefit  from  the  classes  will  result  from  the 
personality  of  the  leader  or  teacher,  rather 
than  from  the  technical  knowledge  which 
may  be  obtained  from  a  particular  study. 

The  class  work  will  be  a  point  of  contact. 
The  common  interest  in  a  certain  subject  or 
industry  will  give  the  leader  an  opportunity 
to  direct  the  boy  to  better  and  higher  things. 
When  the  boy  is  ready  for  a  regular  course 
in  the  evening  school,  the  club  will  have 
largely  accomplished  its  purpose  for  that 
particular  boy,  for  he  will  have  little  use  for 
the  club  after  that. 

The  earnest  workers  who  are  so  fearful 
lest  their  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  boys  will  be 
worse  than  useless  unless  they  can  get  the 
boys  to  apply  themselves  to  some  specific 
study,  should  not  forget  that  education  and 
discipline  and  character  may  be  acquired  in 
the  gymnasium  or  in  the  game,  as  well  as  in 
the  class-room.  Fair  play  and  cooperation, 
which  are  demanded  in  these  things,  will 
work  wonders  in  the  average  boy's  char- 
acter. It  is  because  the  boy  is  indifferent  to 
these  things  that  he  needs  to  be  helped — not 
thrown  overboard  to  perish  because  he  is  not 


24  Boys  of  the  Street 

pleased  to  apply  his  mind  consecutively, — 
about  which,  by  the  way,  some  of  us  who 
are  older  are  not  particularly  anxious. 

Whatever  is  suggestive  of  a  sweeter  and  a 
stronger  home  life  should  be  here  introduced, 
because  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that,  after 
all,  one  of  the  chief  purposes  of  the  club  is 
to  develop  that  love  for  home  which  for 
many  reasons  may  have  been  eradicated.  If 
this  can  be  accomplished,  the  boys'  club  will 
have  fulfilled  a  great  mission. 


Ill 

VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  CLUBS 

In  a  general  way  one  may  say  that  there  are 
three  kinds  of  clubs — the  group  club,  the 
mass  club,  and  the  self-government  club. 
Then  there  is  what  has  been  called  the  com- 
bination club,  which  includes  two  or  more 
features  which  are  found  in  the  clubs  just 
mentioned. 

The  first  boys'  clubs  to  be  organized  were 
mass  clubs.  They  were  organized,  primarily, 
for  the  purpose  of  keeping  boys  off  the 
streets,  and  were  necessarily  somewhat 
crude  in  some  things.  With  the  growth  of 
the  boys'  club  idea  there  has  been  a  radical 
change  in  the  plan  of  organization.  Instead 
of  there  being  a  great  company  of  boys, 
meeting  nightly  for  the  purpose  of  reading 
and  playing  games,  with  an  occasional  en- 
tertainment, leaders  have  started  the  group 
club,  which  is  usually  confined  to  from  six 
to  ten  boys.  These  boys  are  generally  made 
up  of  the  same  "gang,"  therefore  of  the 
same  age  and  the  same  neighbourhood. 
25 


26  Boys  of  the  Street 

The  group  club  will  usually  meet  only  once 
a  week,  and  is  under  the  immediate  direc- 
tion of  a  leader  who  is  responsible  for  the 
work  of  the  club. 

Unquestionably,  there  are  decided  advan- 
tages in  limiting  the  size  of  the  club,  so  that 
there  will  be  that  personal  touch  with  the 
leader  which  cannot  always  be  secured  in  a 
club  which  numbers  several  hundred.  One 
of  the  very  best  clubs  ever  organized  is  com- 
posed of  a  Sunday-school  teacher  and  her 
class  of  boys.  The  teacher  will  find  no  bet- 
ter way  to  hold  her  boys  if  she  can  meet  her 
scholars  in  this  way  during  the  week.  It  is 
important  in  a  group  club  to  get  together 
boys  who  are  congenial,  in  form,  the  club 
is  very  simple,  but  its  very  simplicity  gives 
such  a  club  a  wide  range  of  possibility.  A 
group  club  has  about  it  a  great  deal  of  elas- 
ticity. The  plans  may  be  more  easily  changed 
than  is  often  possible  in  a  larger  club.  Usu- 
ally, the  group  club  has  a  common  interest 
in  some  subject,  the  subject  being  deter- 
mined almost  altogether  by  the  ability  or  the 
talents  of  the  leader.  What  this  interest  may 
be  does  not  really  matter,  so  long  as  it  may 
be  made  helpful,  and  prove  to  be  a  point  of 
contact.    Some  of  the  things  suggested  in 


Various  Kinds  of  Clubs  27 

the  chapter  on  "What  a  Boys'  Club  May 
Do,"  will  be  helpful  in  deciding  as  to  what  a 
group  club  may  make  its  specialty. 

Since  the  group  club  has  so  little  machin- 
ery, it  depends  very  much  upon  the  leader  for 
its  success;  much  more  so  than  does  the  mass 
club.  The  leader  of  such  a  group  must  know 
intimately  every  boy.  His  must  be  a  strong, 
sympathetic  nature.  A  club  of  this  kind  offers 
a  great  moral  opportunity  to  such  a  person. 

Mr.  Alvan  F.  Sanborn,  in  the  South  End 
House  Bulletin,  tells  of  his  experience  with  a 
group  club.  He  writes:  "I  gave  myself 
conscientiously  to  amusing  a  group  of  boys 
with  table  games  for  several  months  before 
I  discovered  them  to  be  worthy  of  much  bet- 
ter things.  Then  the  discovery  came  by  the 
merest  accident.  The  boys  were  twelve  and 
thirteen  years  of  age.  There  were  seven  of 
them,  and  they  came  to  my  room  once  a 
week.  Their  ignorance  of  the  commonest 
facts  of  country  life  (I  have  heard  a  squirrel 
called  a  young  monkey)  led  me  one  night  to 
show  them  a  dusty  natural  history  collection 
I  had  made  when  a  very  small  boy.  In- 
stantly it  was  to  them  as  if  they  were  in  a 
fairy  palace.  The  specimens, — mainly  in- 
sects and  birds'  eggs — were  battered,  worm- 


28  Boys  of  the  Street 

eaten,  and  discoloured;  but  my  boys'  eyes 
were  full  of  wonder,  and  reverence  was  in  the 
touch  of  their  hands.  They  were  stirred  with  - 
a  new  enthusiasm  that  boded  much  good. 
I  saw  that  I  should  have  to  rack  my  brains 
no  more  for  amusements;  that  our  meetings 
were  at  last  to  answer  a  real  purpose. 

"The  collection  alone,  petty  as  it  was, 
held  the  attention  of  the  boys  for  several 
nights.  Then,  as  it  was  winter,  I  tried  to 
tide  the  precious  interest  over  to  spring  by 
planting  seeds  in  sawdust  and  sand,  and  get- 
ting them  to  do  the  same.  Early  in  March  I 
was  able  to  show  tree  buds  and  catkins  as 
trophies  of  walks  in  the  country,  and  a  little 
later,  live  frogs,  turtles  and  snakes.  As  soon 
as  bird-nesting  time  arrived,  it  was  easy  to 
make  a  striking  display  every  week.  On 
occasional  Saturdays  I  took  the  boys  into  the 
country  and  there  they  became  infected  with 
the  egg-collecting  fever. 

"  1  love  Thoreau  and  1  love  Burroughs  and 
all  the  rest  of  the  outdoor  fraternity.  I 
longed  to  share  my  pleasure  in  them  with 
the  boys,  but  lacked  the  moral  courage  to 
make  so  risky  an  experiment.  Finally,  I  re- 
membered the  charming  bird  biographies  of 
Olive  Thorn  Miller,  and  ventured  on  them. 


Various  Kinds  of  Clubs  29 

It  was  a  happy  venture.  This  so  far  em- 
boldened me  that  I  read  them,  in  quick  suc- 
cession, parts  of  Bradford  Torrey,  Bolles, 
Abbot,  Burroughs,  and  even  Thoreau.  Of 
these,  Burroughs,  I  think,  was  the  favourite. 
That  the  finer  shades  of  thought  or  the 
strictly  literary  qualities  of  these  writings 
were  apparent  to  the  boys,  I  do  not  for  a 
moment  affirm.  Of  course  I  had  to  choose 
chapters  wisely,  and  avoid  altogether  or  sim- 
plify ideas  which  were  taken  in  and  the  fresh 
out-of-door  flavour  was  appreciated. 

"This  past  summer,  the  study  and  collect- 
ing have  gone  on  very  much  as  in  the  year 
before,  except  that  the  nature-love  is  now 
'inside  the  skin.'  This  it  is  that  makes  me 
glad.  The  boys  no  longer  wait  for  me  to 
take  the  initiative.  They  take  electric-car 
rides  into  the  country  by  themselves,  when 
they  can  raise  dimes.  When  there  are  no 
dimes  they  walk  out  through  dismal  city 
streets  to  such  country  as  is  to  be  found  at 
the  end  of  two  or  three  miles — tame  enough, 
as  most  of  us  know. 

"Those  of  us  who  have  faith  that  no  good 
influence,  however  weak,  is  vain,  as  well  as 
those  of  us  who  are  Wordsworthians  enough 
to  believe  in  the  special  ethical  value  of  a  love 


3©  Boys  of  the  Street 

of  nature,  will  feel  it  is  really  no  small  thing 
for  the  child  of  a  crowded  city  neighbour- 
hood to  grow  to  manhood  with  such  a  love 
within  his  soul.  'Nature  never  did  betray 
the  heart  that  loved  her.'  In  these  hours  of 
rollicking  country  research  are  life  and  food 
for  future  years." 

While  much  may  be  said  in  favour  of  the 
group  club,  there  are  some  advantages  in  the 
larger  or  mass  club  which  are  ordinarily  lost 
to  the  smaller  club.  Chief  among  them  is 
the  fact  that  the  club  is  reaching  a  greater 
number  of  boys.  It  is  quite  likely  that  at 
least  six  boys  out  of  the  larger  club  will  re- 
ceive as  much  benefit  as  the  six  boys  who 
would  compose  a  club  of  that  number,  al- 
though the  benefit  may  be  of  a  different  kind, 
besides  helping  the  larger  number  who  would 
otherwise  have  been  left  out. 

A  large  club  tends  to  break  down  some  of 
the  barriers  of  creed,  race  and  colour.  It  is,  as 
a  rule,  more  democratic  than  the  smaller  club. 
The  club  spirit  is  stronger,  and  the  enthusiasm 
more  lasting  among  average  boys,  and  these 
are  the  kind  that  you  will  deal  with.  Your 
model  boy  rarely  needs  the  boys'  club. 

Contact  with  a  large  number  of  bright, 
wide-awake  boys  is  bound  to   stimulate  a 


Various  Kinds  of  Clubs  31 

duller  boy.  The  large  dub  is  richer  in  tra- 
ditions. There  are  the  achievements  of  the 
baseball  nine  or  the  football  team,  the  glee- 
club  or  the  orchestra,  the  memories  of  the 
picnics  and  the  summer  camp.  Then  there 
are  the  lessons  of  brotherhood  and  coopera- 
tion, which  can  be  taught  more  effectively  in 
the  larger  club. 

The  mass  club  is  economical.  The  same 
argument  would  hold  good  for  a  large  club 
that  holds  for  a  large  church  or  business.  As 
a  rule,  its  affairs  are  administered  better  be- 
cause it  is  directed  by  a  committee  or  board 
which  contains  men  of  large  experience  and 
sympathy.  The  club,  however,  must  have  a 
head  with  undivided  responsibility.  This 
kind  of  a  club  will  reach  the  neediest  boys, 
because  they  will  be  more  likely  to  go  where 
there  is  a  crowd,  than  to  a  place  where  they 
might  be  more  closely  scrutinized  as  to  the 
clothes  that  they  can  afford  to  wear.  As  a 
rule,  the  expense  of  belonging  to  a  group  club 
is  larger  than  that  of  a  mass  club,  because 
there  are  usually  some  boys  in  the  group  club 
who  will  insist  on  excursions  or  some  other 
features  which  may  cost  more  than  the  poor 
boy  can  afford.  This,  of  course,  may  be  pre- 
vented by  a  wise  leader. 


32  Boys  of  the  Street 

Any  boy  should  be  eligible  to  membership 
in  a  mass  club,  and  he  should  be  retained 
until  he  very  clearly  proves  himself  unfit  for 
the  association  of  other  boys.  Even  then  he 
should  have  the  personal  care  of  the  manager, 
because  just  then  he  will  need  it  most.  It  is 
customary  to  have  the  rooms  open  every 
night  for  the  mass  club.  There  should  be  a 
number  of  assistants  who  may  be  depended 
upon,  each  having  his  work  mapped  out,  as 
indicated  in  another  chapter.  It  will  cost 
more  to  conduct  a  mass  club,  but  it  will  be 
easier  to  raise  money  for  it  than  for  the 
smaller  club.  Indeed,  there  are  few  things 
that  appeal  to  the  average  citizen  more  readily 
than  boys'  club  work.  The  people  who  con- 
tribute largely  to  mission  and  church  work 
are  confined  to  a  comparatively  small  circle. 
There  is  a  large  company  of  people  who  are 
not  contributing  towards  regular  mission 
work  who  could  be  induced  to  give  towards 
the  work  of  a  boys'  club. 

It  has  been  said  that  it  is  impossible  for  a 
club  manager  to  become  acquainted  with  a 
large  number  of  boys  in  the  mass  club.  That 
is  true,  but  it  should  be  remembered  that  the 
boys  become  acquainted  with  him. 

When  it  has  been  decided  to  have  a  club 


Various  Kinds  of  Clubs  33 

which  is  to  take  in  as  many  boys  as  the 
rooms  will  accommodate,  it  is  best  to  limit 
the  membership  in  the  beginning,  so  that  the 
manager  may  become  acquainted  with  the 
boys  who  are  to  be  largely  responsible  for 
the  future  of  the  club,  the  limit  being  in- 
creased from  time  to  time,  until  the  full  num- 
ber has  been  reached.  This  plan  places  a 
premium  upon  the  membership,  giving  it 
a  value  which  it  might  not  otherwise  possess. 
A  combination  of  the  mass  club  and  the 
group  club  makes  the  best  form  of  organiza- 
tion, in  the  city.  This  is  the  plan  which  is 
being  rapidly  introduced  in  many  of  the 
larger  clubs,  some  of  which  have  not  been 
getting  the  results  which  they  might  have. 
This  form  has  been  arrived  at  from  the  other 
end  in  some  churches  and  settlements,  where 
the  group  club  was  the  beginning  of  the 
club  idea.  After  a  number  of  clubs  have 
been  started,  they  have  been  federated.  The 
plan  is  more  easily  arranged  when  this  has 
been  the  case,  and  in  some  ways  is  more  sat- 
isfactory than  the  formation  of  small  groups 
selected  from  a  large  company  of  boys,  be- 
cause the  natural  selection  has  in  most  cases 
been  already  made  in  the  group  club.  How- 
ever, it  is  not  at  all  impossible  to  divide  the 


34  ^oys  °^  ^^^  Street 

boys  into  separate  groups  after  the  mass 
club  has  arrived  at  a  large  membership.  The 
selection  may  be  made  according  to  age  or 
natural  interest,  the  latter  being  always  the 
best  method  of  selection. 

In  the  case  of  the  federation  idea,  meetings 
of  the  united  clubs  may  be  held  once  a  week 
for  business  purposes  and  for  games,  al- 
though there  should  be  some  kind  of  a  per- 
manent organization,  having  a  definite  ob- 
ject, with  its  officers  and  general  committees. 

Whatever  the  form  of  organization,  it 
should  be  the  aim  of  the  leader  to  meet  the 
boys  as  often  as  possible,  and  in  a  crowded 
city,  where  there  are  so  many  temptations 
alluring  the  boy  into  sin,  some  provision 
should  be  made  for  the  nightly  care  of  the 
boys  of  the  community.  For  this  purpose, 
the  mass  club,  with  its  reading  and  game 
rooms,  besides  the  occasional  entertain- 
ments and  talks,  seems  to  meet  the  greatest 
need. 

It  is  well  to  give  the  boys  some  part  in  the 
management  of  the  club.  This  gives  them  a 
personal  responsibility,  and  they  will  natu- 
rally take  a  great  deal  of  pride  in  maintaining 
a  high  standard  for  the  club.  Probably  the 
best  way  to  maintain  order  is  to  take  the 


Various  Kinds  of  Clubs  35 

ring-leader  in  the  capers  of  the  boys,  and 
give  him  the  authority  of  a  poUceman  in  the 
dub-rooms.  He  will  then  be  just  as  enthu- 
siastic in  keeping  order  as  he  was  before  in 
leading  the  boys  into  mischief. 

The  self-government  club  is,  in  many  re- 
spects, the  ideal  club.  A  model  constitution 
for  this  kind  of  a  club  may  be  found  in  the 
chapter  on  "A  Boys'  Club  Constitution." 
The  boys  elect  their  own  officers,  appoint 
their  own  committees,  and  become  respon- 
sible for  the  business  of  the  club  in  every 
particular. 

The  manager  of  the  club  is  appealed  to 
only  when  a  question  becomes  too  complex 
for  their  settlement.  A  wise  manager  will 
sometimes  permit  the  boys  to  make  a  mis- 
take, so  that  they  may  profit  through  the  ex- 
perience. The  members  of  the  self-govern- 
ment club  should  be  taught  to  appreciate  the 
fact  that  the  success  of  the  club  depends 
upon  their  own  etTorts.  The  committees 
should  know  that  they  are  expected  to  do 
the  work  that  has  been  assigned  to  them, 
and  not  to  depend  upon  the  manager  for  the 
execution  of  the  will  of  the  club. 

All  this  develops  a  spirit  of  self-reliance, 
and  it  cultivates  the  habit  of  right  thinking, 


36  Boys  of  the  Street 

because  the  boys  very  readily  see  the  result 
of  wrong  action  taken  by  the  club. 

The  question  of  discipline  may  usually  be 
left  in  the  hands  of  the  boys,  since  most  boys 
have  a  keen  sense  of  justice,  and  will  stand 
up  for  that  which  is  right  and  fair,  and  dis- 
cipline administered  by  the  boys  will  ordi- 
narily be  far  more  effective  than  if  it  came 
from  the  manager,  while  at  the  same  time 
the  manager  may  still  be  regarded  as  the 
friend  of  the  offender.  Permanent  expulsion 
from  the  club  should  rarely  be  resorted  to  as 
a  means  of  discipline.  One  needs  to  distin- 
guish between  the  exuberant  life  of  boy  na- 
ture and  downright  viciousness. 

Ordinarily,  the  clubs  which  are  composed 
of  boys  who  are  never  guilty  of  any  of  the 
pranks  which  are  peculiar  to  boys  are  very 
slow  affairs,  and  they  rarely  turn  out  a  good, 
live  "hustler."  This,  of  course,  does  not 
necessarily  follow.  It  is  simply  a  matter  of 
general  observation,  and  should  be  an  en- 
couragement to  the  worker  who  thinks  that 
his  boys  are  unusually  "  bad." 


TV 

SOME  THINGS  THAT  A  BOYS'  CLUB 
MAY  DO 

It  has  been  said  that  work  in  a  boys'  club 
should  be  largely  inspirational.  By  this  I  do 
not  mean  that  it  consists  only  of  "goody 
goody  "  talks,  or  even  the  really  inspirational 
kind.  Neither  do  I  mean  that  no  definite 
work  should  be  attempted. 

A  study  of  street  boy  nature — and  this 
kind  should  receive  the  most  attention — will 
reveal  the  fact  that  whatever  taste  for  quiet, 
consecutive  work  or  enjoyment  he  may  have 
possessed  has  been  taken  out  of  him  by  the 
experiences  of  the  street.  The  glamour  of 
city  life  has  been  the  curse  of  the  boy  who 
has  spent  all  of  his  life  amidst  the  unhealthy 
surroundings  of  the  cheap  theatre,  the  saloon, 
the  dance  hall,  or  even  the  unusual  excite- 
ment of  the  busy  street.  He  now  feeds 
upon  this  excitement,  and  it  is  with  the  ut- 
most difficulty  that  he  can  be  brought  to 
think  about  matters  which  are  more  refined. 
37 


38  Boys  of  the  Street 

To  take  a  group  of  such  boys  and  suddenly 
plunge  them  into  a  course  of  study  which 
requires  hard,  consecutive  thinking  will  drive 
them  away  at  once.  We  should  never  forget 
that  we  have  to  do,  not  with  the  ideal  boy, 
but  with  the  careless,  happy-go-lucky  average 
boy,  who  left  school,  or  hates  it,  because  he 
had  to  study,  sometimes  under  very  unfa- 
vourable circumstances,  when  he  went  there. 

How  to  get  him  to  think  seriously  and  con- 
tinuously is  the  problem  that  will  confront 
the  club  manager.  The  boy  loves  power. 
Show  him  that  he  can  obtain  it  through  knowl- 
edge. He  loves  praise.  Teach  him  how  he 
may  deserve  it.  He  has  energy  enough  to 
accomplish  wonders  if  it  can  be  rightly  di- 
rected. Now,  if  we  can  find  some  form  of 
education  which  will  engage  this  power,  we 
shall  have  solved  the  problem,  and  the  boy 
will  be  on  the  way  towards  higher  and  better 
things.  Boys  like  to  make  things.  Teach 
them  the  dignity  of  labour.  Most  of  them 
will  be  mechanics.  Show  them  how  they 
may  become  the  best  mechanics.  It  may  be 
a  very  simple  thing,  sometimes;  a  mere  sug- 
gestion, given  at  the  right  moment,  will  put 
a  great  new  idea  into  the  boy's  mind  which 
will  completely  change  his  career.     For  this 


Some  Things  That  a  Club  May  Do  39 

occasion  the  manager  must  be  always  on  the 
lookout.  The  plans  which  follow  are  merely 
susaestive,  for  no  one  can  outline  the  work 
which  may  be  introduced  into  every  boys' 
club.  Each  manager  must  work  out  his  own 
salvation,  even  though  it  is  sometimes  done 
with  fear  and  trembling. 

It  has  been  found  an  excellent  thing  to  in- 
troduce the  kindergarten  idea  into  some  boys' 
clubs.  This  will  require  considerable  thought, 
and  may  even  mean  the  employment  of  a 
special  teacher.  For  the  smaller  boys  this 
will  prove  to  be  interesting  and  helpful,  for 
you  will  find  that  few  of  them  ever  so  much 
as  heard  of  a  kindergarten. 

As  boys  grow  older  they  become  interested 
in  politics.  City  politics  are  especially  fasci- 
nating, because  the  boys  early  take  an  active 
part  in  them.  For  such,  city  history  clubs 
may  be  made  profitable.  Study  the  begin- 
ning of  the  city's  life,  its  early  landmarks, 
its  development,  its  industries,  the  various 
departments  of  municipal  government,  the 
administration  of  public  utilities,  etc.  Any- 
thing that  has  to  do  with  the  life  of  the  city 
may  be  investigated  by  such  a  club. 

In  some  clubs  miniature  elections  are  held, 
with  all  the  paraphernalia  of  the  regular  elec- 


40  Boys  of  the  Street 

tion  system.  Speeches  are  made  for  the  can- 
didates, and  as  much  liberty  as  possible  is 
given  to  the  orators.  The  various  parties  ap- 
point campaign  committees  and  call  mass 
meetings.  Boy  poll  clerks,  inspectors  and 
watchers  at  the  polls,  are  appointed,  and  on 
election  night  the  regular  customs  are  fol- 
lov^ed,  the  Australian  ballot  being  used. 

Most  boys  are  fond  of  music.  A  glee  club 
is  always  popular,  and  instrumental  music 
will  interest  many.  A  Penny  Provident  Bank 
will  inculcate  habits  of  saving,  besides  teach- 
ing many  other  valuable  lessons.  A  success- 
ful club  manager  says  with  regard  to  this 
phase  of  the  work:  "I  consider  the  savings 
bank  one  of  the  best  features  of  boys'  club 
work.  It  is  a  practical  businesslike  way  of 
teaching  lessons  of  thrift  and  economy.  The 
bank  once  successfully  introduced  advertises 
itself.  Boys  are  persuaded  to  become  depos- 
itors because  they  see  the  bank-books  owned 
by  their  companions  and  are  anxious  to  pos- 
sess one  themselves.  To  own  a  bank  ac- 
count, even  if  the  deposits  are  counted  by 
pennies,  means  much  to  the  average  boy. 
Then  the  growing  amounts,  the  rapid  way 
that  pennies  increase,  is  often  a  genuine  sur- 
prise to  boys  who  little  realized  that  the  few 


Some  Things  That  a  Club  May  Do  41 

pennies  spent  here  and  there  for  candy  and 
cigarettes  soon  amounted  to  dollars.  No 
millionaire  ever  counted  over  his  riches  with 
more  satisfaction  than  some  youngsters  dis- 
play as  they  show  their  first  dollar  saved.  1 
have  always  encouraged  in  my  club  the  idea 
of  saving  for  some  definite  object — a  pair  of 
shoes,  an  overcoat,  a  suit  of  clothes,  even  a 
bicycle — anything  a  boy  can  look  forward  to 
buying  with  his  own  money.  Boys,  even  the 
poorer  ones,  frequently  have  more  money 
than  at  first  seems  possible.  Nearly  every 
street  boy  picks  up  a  good  many  pennies  sell- 
ing papers,  blacking  shoes  or  running  errands. 
If  he  is  at  all  ambitious  the  sum  may  amount 
to  considerable.  Many  of  them  carry  their 
earnings  home,  but  nearly  every  one  has 
something  for  himself,  and  when  they  begin 
the  habit  of  saving  the  little  amounts  they 
soon  appreciate  the  value  of  even  a  penny." 
We  once  had  about  two  thousand  depos- 
itors, who  saved  over  $6,000.  The  parents 
and  sisters  of  the  members  should  be  encour- 
aged to  become  depositors,  as  they  were  in 
this  case.  A  complete  banking  outfit  may  be 
secured  from  the  Penny  Provident  Fund  of 
New  York  City  without  any  charge  excepting 
for  the  postage. 


42  Boys  of  the  Street 

If  possible,  a  boys'  club  should  have  a  cir- 
culating library.  It  should  be  first-class,  even 
though  there  are  no  more  than  a  dozen  vol- 
umes. Travelling  libraries,  with  a  few  games 
enclosed,  have  proved  to  be  helpful  in  the 
homes.  A  picture  loaning  library  might  also 
be  beneficial. 

Debating  societies  are  frequently  organized 
among  the  boys  from  fourteen  to  eighteen, 
and  it  almost  takes  one's  breath  away  to  see 
the  rapidity  with  which  they  discuss  and  dis- 
miss matters  of  world-wide  interest  and 
importance.  But  the  practice  in  debate  and 
the  knowledge  of  parliamentary  law  which 
is  acquired,  is  always  helpful  to  the  boys, 
many  of  whom  will  some  day  debate  in  real 
life,  when  there  will  be  real  issues  at  stake. 

Many  of  the  members  of  the  clubs  are 
newsboys.  Why  not  have  the  boys  print  a 
small  newspaper  ?  There  are  few  things 
which  will  prove  to  be  more  fascinating, 
even  to  those  who  do  not  sell  papers. 

In  some  cities  Junior  Leagues  of  the  De- 
partment of  Street  Cleaning  have  been 
encouraged,  cooperating  with  the  street 
department  in  keeping  the  streets  clean  by 
compelling  an  observance  of  the  city 
ordinances.     Nature-study  classes  are  some- 


Some  Things  That  a  Club  May  Do  43 

times  full  of  interest,  as  has  already  been 
noted.  The  study  of  heroes  will  be  found 
inspiring,  and  the  love  of  animals  will  instil 
nobility  of  soul. 

Lectures  or  talks  on  the  care  of  the  body, 
the  development  of  the  sciences,  the  conduct 
of  great  business  enterprises,  such  as  the 
daily  newspaper,  the  department  store,  the 
railroad,  or  the  stock  exchange,  are  always 
helpful,  if  presented  in  a  manner  which  will 
appeal  to  the  average  boy.  Some  time  ago 
we  arranged  for  a  course  of  addresses  in  our 
boys'  club  which  became  so  attractive  that 
the  boys  were  glad  to  extend  an  invitation  to 
their  boy  friends,  who  seemed  eager  to 
attend. 

The  editor  of  the  newspaper  sold  by  the 
boys  came  down  to  tell  us  how  a  newspaper 
is  made.  A  college  professor  talked  on 
"Habits."  A  surgeon  told,  simply,  of  the 
progress  of  his  art.  A  factory  superintend- 
ent told  the  boys  just  what  characteristics 
were  most  appreciated  by  him  in  his  em- 
ployees, and  as  many  of  the  boys  expected  to 
work  in  his  factory,  he  was  listened  to  with 
keenest  interest.  Experience  has  indicated 
that  public  talks  on  social  purity  are  often 
suggestive  of  the  very  things  which  they  are 


44  Boys  of  the  Street 

supposed  to  put  out  of  the  boys'  mind,  and 
that  more  harm  than  good  usually  results 
from  such  addresses. 

Some  clubs  assume  a  military  form. 
Others  are  organized  for  temperance  work. 
And  then  there  are  the  clubs  similar  to  the 
"  lend-a-hand "  idea,  which  are  organized 
for  purposes  of  helpfulness  to  others. 

The  following  familiar  entertainments  are 
always  appreciated:  ''Talking"  machines, 
lantern  picture-talks,  "  Tricks  "  by  a  profes- 
sional magician,  ventriloquism,  plays  and 
dialogues,  musical  entertainments — vocal  or 
instrumental,  athletic  exhibitions,  reading 
and  recitations,  "Fire-Sides"  with  stories, 
historical  impersonations  and  tableaus, 
shadow  pictures,  mock  trials,  experiments  in 
chemistry  and  electricity,  spelling  matches, 
and  informal  talks  on  the  biographies  of  self- 
made  men.  Other  public  entertainments  will 
readily  suggest  themselves.  Excursions  to 
factories,  public  buildings,  museums,  parks, 
historical  places,  and  outings  on  Saturday 
afternoons  or  some  other  convenient  time 
will  bring  the  leader  into  closer  touch  with 
the  boys,  besides  being  helpful  to  them  in 
many  ways. 

The  following  games  may  be  suggestive 


Some  Things  That  a  Club  May  Do  45 

for  use  in  the  club:  Crokinole,  dominoes, 
basket-ball,  hand-ball,  chess,  authors,  tid- 
dledy  winks,  shuffle  board, "  Nellie  Bly,"  bean 
bag,  spring  ritle  with  rubber  tip  on  point 
of  projectile,  going  to  Jerusalem,  post-office, 
beast  bird  or  fish,  stage  coach,  lotto,  table 
tennis,  pillow  dex,  piece  puzzles,  button 
button,  charades,  blind  man's  buff,  donkey, 
blow  the  feather,  spin  the  platter,  scout,  po- 
tato race,  quoits. 

If  manual  training  is  desired,  some  of  the 
following  occupations  will  help:  Mechanical 
or  free  hand  drawing,  cobbling,  Venetian 
ironwork,  basket  weaving,  bamboo  work, 
bead  work,  box  making,  clay  modeling, 
sloyd,  china  painting,  cooking,  wood-carving, 
whittling,  scrap-book  making,  poster  work, 
printing,  passe-partout,  fretwork,  leather 
work,  lettering,  rope  mat  making,  toy  furni- 
ture making,  cabinet  making,  carpentering, 
bookbinding  and  burnt  woodwork. 


V 
A  BOYS'  CLUB  CONSTITUTION 

The  constitution  to  be  adopted  will  de- 
pend upon  the  kind  of  a  club  that  is  to  be 
organized.  Four  kinds  of  clubs  are  dealt 
with  in  this  book— mass,  group,  combina- 
tion and  self-government  clubs. 

The  mass  club  is  usually  run  on  tradition, 
although  there  are  generally  a  few  well  un- 
derstood "rules"  which  are  necessary  for 
the  highest  good  of  the  whole  number. 
One  of  the  best  mass  clubs  that  I  know 
about  has  the  briefest  kind  of  a  constitution^ 
namely:  "Be  a  gentleman,"  The  most 
elaborate  constitution  ever  framed  cannot  do 
this  for  the  members  of  the  club,  and  it  is 
admitted  that  the  making  of  a  gentleman  is 
one  of  the  chief  things  sought  for  in  the  club. 

The  group  club  does  not  require  a  very 
elaborate  constitution,  because  there  isn't  very 
much  of  parliamentary  law  in  connection 
with  the  club.  It  is  rather  a  familiar  group 
under  a  leader  who  has  the  confidence  of  the 
club  to  such  a  degree  that  his  wish  usually 
becomes  the  law  for  the  club. 

As  the  combination  club  is  what  the  name 
implies— a  combination  of  the  mass  and  the 
.46 


A  Boys'  Club  Constitution        47 

group  clubs,  it  follows  that  what  applies  to 
these  clubs  with  regard  to  a  constitution, 
would  also  apply  to  it. 

The  self-government  club,  however,  re- 
quires more  elaborate  treatment  in  this  re- 
spect, as  the  boys  will  need  frequent  guidance 
in  their  deliberations,  and  the  rules  upon 
which  their  organization  is  built  must  be 
clearly  defined.  When  a  constitution  is  de- 
sired for  the  other  kinds  of  clubs  mentioned, 
sufficient  will  be  found  in  the  constitution 
given  for  the  self-government  club  to  draft  a 
set  of  rules  which  will  serve  as  a  guide  or  a 
foundation. 

It  should  be  remembered  that,  after  all,  a 
constitution  is  the  expression  of  the  desires 
of  the  members  of  the  club.  It  is  not  a  police- 
man's baton  to  be  held  over  their  heads.  This 
expression  may  be  very  brief,  and  yet  it  may 
comprehend  all  that  makes  up  a  good  club. 

It  is  not  the  constitution  that  makes  the 
club,  but  the  club  that  makes  the  constitu- 
tion. To  paraphrase  a  familiar  expression: 
"The  constitution  follows  the  club."  The 
following  constitution  may  have  to  be  adapted 
as  well  as  adopted.  It  is  given  simply  as  a 
general  guide  to  those  who  will  readily  see 
just  what  is  needed  for  their  particular  club. 


48  Boys  of  the  Street 

CONSTITUTION. 
Article  1. 

Name. 
This    organization     siiall     be   called   The 
Young  American  Club. 

Article  II. 
Object. 
The  object  of  the  club  shall  be  to  develop 
the  physical,  mental,  and  moral  natures  of  its 
members. 

Article  III. 
Colours. 
The  colours  of  the  club  shall  be  red  and  blue. 

Article  IV. 
Membership. 

Section  i.  Any  boy  between  the  ages  of 
ten  and  fourteen  may  become  a  member  of 
the  club,  upon  the  recommendation  of  the 
membership  committee,  and  upon  a  ma- 
jority vote  of  the  club. 

Section  2.  Each  boy,  before  being  ad- 
mitted to  the  privileges  of  the  club,  shall 
sign  the  constitution,  after  his  election. 

Section  j.  Any  boy  who  is  absent  from 
four  consecutive  meetings  will  have  his  name 
taken  from  the  membership  roll,  unless  he 


A  Boys'  Club  Constitution        49 

has  a  good  reason  for  his  absence,  which 
must  be  sent  to  the  Secretary  in  writing. 

Article  V. 
Officers. 

Section  i.  There  shall  be  a  President, 
Vice-President,  Secretary,  Treasurer  and 
Chaplain. 

Section  2.  All  elective  officers  shall  be 
chosen  by  ballot,  the  persons  receiving  the 
highest  number  of  votes  being  declared 
elected. 

Section  j.  The  term  of  office  shall  be 
three  months. 

Article  VI. 
Ditties  of  Officers. 

Section  i.  The  President  shall  preside  at  all 
meetings  of  the  club.  He  shall  have  power  in 
case  of  a  tie  vote  to  cast  the  deciding  vote. 

Section  2.  The  Vice-President  shall  pre- 
side at  all  meetings  of  the  club  in  the  ab- 
sence of  the  President,  and  shall  assist  the 
President  in  all  ways  possible. 

Section  ^.  The  Secretary  shall  keep  an 
accurate  record  of  all  proceedings  of  the 
club.  He  shall  keep  a  list  of  the  names  and 
residences  of  all  the  members,  and  call  the 
roll  at  each  meeting. 


50  Boys  of  the  Street 

Section  4.  The  Treasurer  shall  keep  a  cor- 
rect account  of  all  money  received  by  him, 
and  shall  collect  all  dues  from  the  members, 
and  give  a  weekly  report  showing  the  finan- 
cial condition  of  the  club. 

Section  5.  The  Chaplain  shall  be  re- 
sponsible for  such  religious  exercises  as  may 
be  determined  upon  by  the  club. 

Article  VII. 
Committees. 

Section  i.  The  following  named  standing 
committees  shall  be  appointed  for  each  term 
by  the  President,  after  consulting  with  the 
Executive  Committee. 

{a)  Membership. — It  shall  be  the  duty  of 
this  committee  to  propose  desirable  candi- 
dates for  membership  in  the  club,  and  to 
visit  and  report  upon  all  absentees. 

ih)  Rooms. — It  shall  be  the  duty  of  this 
committee  to  see  that  the  club-rooms  are 
properly  heated,  lighted  and  ventilated,  and 
that  all  furniture  is  in  its  proper  place  before 
and  after  the  meeting.  It  shall  also  be  the 
duty  of  this  committee  to  see  that  order  is 
maintained  in  and  about  the  building. 

{c)  Social. — It  shall  be  the  duty  of  this 
committee  to  arrange  for  and  take  charge  of 


A  Boys'  Club  Constitution        51 

the  socials  given  by  the  club,  securing  such 
assistance  as  they  may  need. 

(J)  Educational. — It  shall  be  the  duty  of 
this  committee  to  secure  speakers  for  the  reg- 
ular meetings  of  the  club,  to  take  charge  of 
all  work  of  a  literary  character,  and  to  ar- 
range for  all  public  meetings  not  otherwise 
provided  for. 

{e)  Athletic— \\.  shall  be  the  duty  of  this 
committee  to  organize  teams  for  outdoor 
games,  and  to  have  supervision  over  the 
pharaphernalia  in  the  gymnasium. 

Section  2.  The  Executive  Committee  shall 
consist  of  the  elective  officers. 

Section  ^.  Special  committees  may  be  ap- 
pointed by  the  President  upon  the  recom- 
mendation of  the  club. 

Section  4.  The  manager  of  the  club  shall 
be  ex-officio  member  of  all  committees. 

Article  VIII. 
Misbehaviour. 

Any  boy  misbehaving  at  a  meeting  of  the 
club  or  about  the  building,  shall  be  tried  be- 
fore the  club  by  a  committee  appointed  for 
that  purpose,  the  club  determining  the  pun- 
ishment which  shall  be  inflicted. 


^2  Boys  of  the  Street 

Article  IX. 
Dues. 
Dues  shall  be  one  cent  a  week,  payable 
weekly. 

Article  X. 
Meetings. 
Section  i.     The  club  shall  hold  its  regular 
meetings  on  every  Tuesday  night  at  seven 
o'clock. 

Section  2.  Special  meetings  may  be  called 
by  the  Executive  Committee,  or  upon  the 
written  request  of  three  members. 

Section  j.  The  quarterly  meeting  of  the 
club  shall  be  held  on  the  first  Tuesday  even- 
ings in  January,  April,  July  and  October, 
when  there  shall  be  an  election  of  officers, 
and  reports  from  the  standing  committees. 

Article  XI. 
Oitonim. 
Two-thirds  of  the  entire  membership  of 
the  club  shall  constitute  a  quorum. 

Article  XII. 
Amendments. 
This  constitution  may  be  amended  by  a 
two-thirds  vote  of  the  members  present  at 
any  regular  meeting,  notice  of  such  amend- 
ment having  been  given  one  week  in  advance. 


VI 

THE  HEADQUARTERS  OF  THE  CLUB 

The  success  of  any  enterprise  depends 
very  largely  upon  the  attention  given  to  de- 
tails, and  what  is  true  of  other  matters  ap- 
plies with  equal  force  to  the  boys'  club. 

The  arrangement  of  a  room  and  the  selec- 
tion of  its  furnishings  have  much  to  do  with 
holding  the  boys.  They  cannot  explain  why 
the  room  has  an  unpleasant  effect,  or  why 
they  become  restless  and  drowsy,  but  the 
manager  may  know,  if  he  gives  the  matter  a 
little  attention.  A  proper  regard  for  venti- 
lation will  work  a  great  change  in  the  be- 
haviour of  the  boys,  who  cannot  read  or  con- 
tinue to  play  games  because  of  the  impure 
atmosphere.  The  arrangement  of  the  lights 
is  an  important  consideration.  A  poorly 
lighted  room  is  never  attractive,  but  a  glare 
of  gas  may  be  equally  bad. 

There  should  be  plenty  of  carefully  selected 

pictures,  the  meaning  of  which  it  may  be 

well  to  explain  to  the  boys,  so  that  they  may 

carry  with  them  the  lessons  or  the  idea  in  the 

53 


54  Boys  of  the  Street 

mind  of  the  artist.  It  is  much  better,  how- 
ever, to  have  one  good  picture  than  to  fill  the 
w^lls  of  the  room  with  a  lot  of  cheap  chromos 
which  may  mean  absolutely  nothing,  or  sug- 
gest something  worse.  Good  pictures  are 
cheap  enough;  in  fact,  they  may  be  cut  out 
of  some  of  our  first-class  magazines  or  art 
journals,  and  changed  in  the  frames  from 
time  to  time. 

Fresh-cut  flowers  tastefully  arranged,  help- 
ful mottoes  placed  upon  the  walls  or  upon 
the  blackboard,  or  any  little  thing  that  may 
be  copied  and  placed  in  their  own  homes, 
will  be  found  helpful  in  training  the  boys  to 
appreciate  the  beautiful  things  which  God 
has  given  mankind  in  nature  or  through  the 
talents  of  men. 

Many  new  clubs  are  dependent  upon  their 
friends  for  second-hand  reading  matter,  to  be 
used  in  the  club-rooms.  This  should  be  re- 
placed as  soon  as  possible  by  new  and  regu- 
larly published  matter,  which  must  be  kept 
on  file  in  an  orderly  manner,  because  the  en- 
vironment of  the  boys  will  have  much  to  do 
with  their  general  behaviour,  and  the  best 
influence  will  always  be  exerted  when  the 
rooms  are  neatly  kept  and  everything  is  done 
decently  and  in  order. 


The  Headquarters  of  the  Club     55" 

The  games  should  be  carefully  selected,  so 
that  even  in  their  amusements  the  boys  may 
be  trained  to  right  habits  of  thinking.  It  is 
best  to  have  tables  in  the  game-room  which 
accommodate  only  four  boys  each. 

When  there  is  a  gymnasium — and  this 
should  be  secured  if  at  all  possible — it  should 
be  kept  as  clean  and  orderly  as  circumstances 
will  permit.  It  may  be  suggestive  to  some 
of  the  boys  if  they  are  reminded  that  their 
dirty  hands  and  faces  are  not  in  harmony 
with  their  surroundings,  and  it  would  be 
well  to  have  soap  and  water  close  at  hand, 
so  that  they  may  be  used  when  required, 
although  it  will  not  be  long  before  the  neatly 
kept  room  will  have  its  influence  upon  the 
average  boy. 

It  is  best  not  to  permit  the  boys  to  get  the 
impression  that  you  have  an  unlimited 
amount  of  money  at  your  disposal — very  few 
clubs  have,  by  the  way — because  it  will  have 
the  effect  of  making  them  reckless  with  the 
privileges  which  they  then  enjoy,  and  they 
will  not  appreciate  what  you  give  them  so 
much  as  if  they  realized  that  the  new  feature 
cost  somebody  a  struggle;  and  they  will 
enjoy  it  still  more  if  they  have  done  the 
struggling  themselves. 


56  Boys  of  the  Street 

One  club  that  I  know  about  became  in- 
terested in  securing  the  material  for  a  small 
gymnasium  for  their  own  use,  and  they  pro- 
ceeded to  earn  the  necessary  money  by 
gathering  the  empty  tin  cans  found  upon  the 
lots  and  in  the  garbage  heaps  in  their  part  of 
the  city,  and  selling  them  to  a  concern  that 
paid  them  ten  cents  per  hundred  cans.  Some 
of  the  boys  earned  several  dollars  in  this 
way,  and  enough  money  was  raised  to  fit  up 
quite  a  respectable  gymnasium. 

A  group  club  may  meet  in  the  home  of  the 
leader,  and  there  are  many  advantages  in  this 
arrangement.  But  if  it  is  at  all  possible,  the 
club  should  have  a  room  set  apart  for  its 
own  use,  which  may  be  decorated  with  the 
club  colours  and  such  other  trophies  as  will 
inspire  an  "  esprit  de  corps." 

The  inability  to  secure  an  ideal  room 
should  not  prevent  an  earnest  man  or  woman 
from  organizing  a  boys'  club.  Almost  any 
kind  of  a  room  in  any  kind  of  a  building 
may  be  transformed  into  a  club-room.  In- 
deed, the  more  unique  the  room,  the  better 
it  will  be  enjoyed. 

I  remember  that  when  some  of  the  boys 
with  whom  I  associated  when  1  was  nine 
years  old  organized  a  club  which  met  in  the 


The  Headquarters  of  the  Club     57 

dark  cellar  of  a  New  York  tenement,  and 
when  we  had  nothing  but  tallow  candles  to 
illuminate  the  darkness,  we  thought  that 
that  club-room  could  not  be  beaten. 

But  while  it  is  true  that  other  things  may 
easily  make  up  for  the  lack  in  certain  things 
in  the  furnishings  and  the  arrangements  of  a 
boys'  club-room,  other  things  being  equal, 
the  room  that  is  most  neatly  kept,  will  hold 
boys  longest,  and  do  them  the  most  per- 
manent good. 

In  some  instances  schoolhouses  have  been 
opened  for  the  use  of  boys'  clubs.  There  is 
no  reason  why  this  may  not  be  done  more 
generally  throughout  the  country,  especially 
in  the  great  cities,  where  social  centres  for 
the  people  are  so  much  needed.  It  would 
seem  that  any  reputable  person  should  be 
able  to  secure  the  use  of  a  schoolroom  for 
boys'  club  meetings,  upon  the  payment  of  a 
small  fee. 

Social  settlements,  are,  of  course,  rec- 
ognized as  centres  for  special  boys'  work, 
group  clubs  receiving  particular  attention. 
The  average  settlement  will  always  welcome 
the  club  which  desires  to  make  its  building 
the  headquarters  of  the  club.  This  privilege 
is  often  secured  by  helping  to  pay  for  the 


58  Boys  of  the  Street 

care  of  the  room.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
the  best  group  clubs  are  found  in  the  settle- 
ments, largely  because  the  workers  are  ex- 
perts, and  because  they  go  at  the  work  in  a 
businesslike  way. 

But,  more  and  more  are  the  churches  be- 
coming community  centres.  The  rooms  in 
the  average  church  are  more  conveniently 
arranged  than  the  schoolroom  for  boys'  club 
work,  and  it  should  not  be  difficult  to  secure 
the  permission  of  an  official  church  board  to 
use  one  of  these  rooms  for  a  club  composed 
of  the  boys  in  the  neighbourhood. 

Some  boys'  clubs  throughout  the  country 
have  been  so  greatly  prospered  and  so  richly 
blessed  that  they  have  been  permitted  to 
erect  buildings  which  are  being  used  ex- 
clusively for  boys'  club  work.  Such  a  build- 
ing, is,  of  course,  ideal,  and  many  more  of 
them  should  be  erected  in  our  American 
cities. 


VII 
RELIGION  IN  THE  CLUB 

The  question  of  attempting  any  direct 
religious  work  in  the  club  has  been  variously 
decided.  When  the  club  is  composed  of  the 
members  of  a  Sunday-school  class,  as  many 
good  clubs  are,  this  question  is  not  very  per- 
plexing, as  the  boys  receive  religious  training 
in  the  school.  But  when  one  is  working 
with  mass  clubs  in  neighbourhoods  which 
are  not  being  reached  religiously,  and  where 
the  members  of  the  club  are  not  Sunday- 
school  attendants,  it  is  quite  another  matter. 

Many  club  managers  think  it  unwise  to 
introduce  religion  into  the  club  because  of 
the  large  Roman  Catholic  and  Hebrew  ele- 
ment represented  among  the  club  members, 
or  because  they  fear  that  it  will  have  the 
effect  of  driving  away  the  boy,  who,  ap- 
parently, cares  nothing  for  religious  teach- 
ing. 

If,  however,  the  club  is  connected  with  a 
church  organization,  and  if  it  was  organized 
59 


6o  Boys  of  the  Street 

for  the  purpose  of  winning  Hie  boys  for 
Christ,  there  seems  to  be  but  one  thing  to  do 
— win  them.  How  this  is  to  be  accom- 
plished, will  depend  upon  the  wisdom  of  the 
manager.  It  may  be  best,  for  various  reasons, 
never  to  have  an  open  religious  meeting,  but 
rather  to  do  personal  work  among  the  boys 
when  the  opportunity  offers. 

In  a  certain  Sunday-school  there  are  more 
boys  than  girls,  most  of  the  boys  having 
been  drawn  into  the  school  through  the  boys' 
club  connected  with  the  church,  although 
there  has  never  been  a  public  invitation  given 
in  the  club-rooms,  neither  has  there  ever 
been  a  religious  meeting  held  especially  for 
the  members  of  the  club. 

However,  prejudice  against  religious  teach- 
ing is  not  nearly  so  prevalent  among  boys  as 
is  generally  supposed,  because  it  has  been 
found  that  boys  can  be  interested  in  the 
gospel  of  Christ,  and  that  it  is  the  power  of 
God  unto  salvation  even  for  the  wild  street 
arab, — although,  of  course,  it  requires  a 
leader  who  has  some  knowledge  of  boy 
nature,  and  who  can  present  the  gospel  in 
such  a  way  that  it  will  attract  him. 

it  is  a  well-known  fact  that  boys  between 
the  ages  of  ten  and  fifteen  are  more  inter- 


Religion  in  the  Club  61 

ested  in  religious  matters  than  tiiey  are  at 
any  other  period  in  their  lives.  It  seems  a 
pity  that  so  few  workers  possess  the  sense 
or  the  tact  to  give  the  boys  the  best  thing 
that  will  ever  come  to  them,  at  a  time  when 
it  will  be  most  readily  received. 

The  claim  that  a  denominational  club  will 
drive  the  boys  away  is  not  well  founded, 
because  even  the  Jew  and  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic will  come  to  the  Protestant  club  so 
long  as  it  continues  to  prove  attractive, 
although  he  may  not  come  to  the  Sunday- 
school. 

Sometimes,  however,  we  are  so  much  con- 
cerned about  there  being  enough  religion  in 
our  plans  for  the  boy,  that  we  forget  to 
leave  enough  boy  in  them.  "The  building 
is  sacred,"  some  good  brother  will  say,  "and 
we  cannot  permit  that  which  savours  of  the 
secular."  According  to  his  notion,  the  ideal 
boys'  club  would  consist  of  prayer-meetings 
and  Bible  classes,  with  an  occasional  mis- 
sionary talk  as  a  treat,  and,  perhaps,  magic 
lantern  views  of  the  Holy  Land  as  a  dizzy 
climax. 

I  believe  that  a  club  or  a  work  of  any  kind 
for  boys  that  stops  short  of  religion  fails  at  a 
most  vital   point.     But  it  must  not  be  for- 


62  Boys  of  the  Street 

gotten  that  the  average  street  boy  "needs 
homely  virtues  more  than  spiritual  graces." 
Much  of  the  religious  training  of  the  Sunday- 
school  is  unnatural  for  the  boy  of  a  strong, 
virile  nature.  He  despises  cant,  and  he  will 
not  be  a  prig.  Practically  all  the  speakers  at 
Sunday-school  gatherings,  in  relating  the 
conversion  of  Sunday-school  scholars,  con- 
fine themselves  to  "sweet,  beautiful,  blue- 
eyed,  golden-haired,  little  girls."  To  the 
American  boy,  nearly  everybody  who  has 
anything  to  do  with  religion  is  supposed  to 
be  a  woman— from  the  kindergarten  teacher 
to  the  angels  in  heaven.  It  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at  that  the  presentation  of  that 
kind  of  a  religion  does  not  attract  the  street 
boy.  He  loves  and  worships  the  heroic.  1 
believe  that  the  reason  many  boys  leave  the 
Sunday-school  is  because  the  heroic  and 
manly  side  of  the  ideal  man  Christ  Jesus  is 
not  taught  in  such  a  way  as  to  appeal  to  this 
side  of  boy-life. 

Philip  E.  Howard,  of  the  Sunday-School 
Times,  tells  the  following  incident: 

"A  crown  of  thorns,  brought  from  the 
East,  was  shown  from  the  platform  of  a  city 
mission-school  by  the  superintendent.  Very 
little  was  said  to  aid  in  this  visible  demon- 


Religion  in  the  Club  63 

stration  of  the  means  used  in  the  humiliation 
of  Jesus,  but  after  the  school  session  the 
roughest  youngster  in  the  room  made  his 
way  alone  to  the  desk. 

"  '  Say,  may  I  look  at  that  ? '  he  said. 

"  '  Yes,'  answered  the  superintendent,  '  and 
you  may  take  it  in  your  hands.' 

"The  boy  rested  the  crown  of  thorns 
lightly  on  one  hand  and  touched  it  here  and 
there  with  the  other.  His  mischief-breeding 
eyes  were  serious.  He  looked  earnestly  at 
the  superintendent,  and  lifted  the  crown  to 
the  platform  table. 

"  '  Did  He  wear  one  like  that  ? '  asked  the 
boy. 

"  '  Yes,  very  much  like  that,  I  think.' 

"  'Well,  if  He  wore  a  thing  like  that,  I 
don't  wonder  that  He  had  pain.'  And  the 
rough  little  boy  of  the  street  made  no  mis- 
chief as  he  went  through  the  crowd  and  out 
of  the  school  that  day. 

"  Here  was  a  phase  of  the  life  of  Jesus  that 
appealed  to  him— a  waif  who  was  known  to 
be  brutally  handled  at  home." 

"  When  I  go  fishing  for  trout,"  said  Amos 
R.  Wells,  "  1  do  not  consider  what  I  liked 
for  breakfast  nor  what  I  want  for  dinner;  I 
consider  what  the  trout's  mouth  is  watering 


64  Boys  of  the  Street 

for.  When  the  average  teacher  goes  fishing 
for  a  boy,  however,  I  fear  that  she  bases  her 
campaign  entirely  on  her  own  Ukes  and  dis- 
likes. She  is  interested  in  pretty  little  stories 
with  lovely  morals,  and  she  takes  it  for 
granted  that  the  boys  will  be  interested  in 
the  same  thing.  She  is  fascinated  with  a 
volume  of  Mr.  Meyer's  noble  expositions, 
and  she  jumps  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
boys  will  be  glad  to  have  her  read  a  chapter 
to  them.  She  is  delighted  to  discover  the 
hidden  symbolism  of  the  Bible,  as  that  Go- 
liath typifies  worldliness  and  David  the  quiet 
power  of  Christian  faith,  and  she  is  entirely 
oblivious  to  the  boys'  concentration  of  inter- 
est on  Goliath's  armour  and  David's  sling," 

Hearing  his  class  talk  baseball  one  Sunday, 
the  teacher  remarked:  "  Boys,  not  anymore 
baseball;  1  want  to  hear  no  more  about  base- 
ball. This  is  the  Sunday-school."  If  that 
teacher  had  been  wise,  he  would  have  pur- 
chased a  baseball  guide  for  the  current  year 
and  studied  it.  Anyway,  he  should  have 
talked  baseball  with  his  class  on  that  Sun- 
day. Had  he  done  so,  he  would  have  en- 
tered upon  the  study  of  the  lesson  with  a 
bond  of  sympathy  between  himself  and  his 
class. 


Religion  in  the  Club  65 

Valuable  as  the  International  Sunday-school 
lessons  are  in  Sunday-school  work,  I  think 
that  we  have  become  slaves  to  the  system. 
There  is  no  reason  why  the  teacher  or  leader 
of  a  boys'  class  should  not  get  as  far  away 
as  possible  from  the  ordinary  Sunday-school 
lesson,  if  that  seems  the  best  thing  to  do, 
especially  if  his  work  is  done  in  connection 
with  a  boys'  club.  Old  Testament  stories 
may  be  made  intensely  vivid  to  the  street 
boy,  and  when  he  learns  to  admire  and  en- 
joy the  Bible  as  literature,  and  when  he  finds 
out,  as  B.  Paul  Neuman  wrote,  that  "  faith 
and  immortality,  and  the  forgiveness  of  sin 
are  subjects  just  as  '  live '  and  almost  as  im- 
portant, as  vaccination  and  strikes,"  a  long 
step  will  have  been  taken  towards  the  goal 
of  arousing  a  genuine  and  hearty  interest  in 
religion. 

I  remember  a  rollicking  boy  in  a  New 
York  tenement  who  burned  his  face  very  se- 
verely on  a  Fourth  of  July.  After  he  had 
sufficiently  recovered  to  sit  up,  he  began 
reading  the  Bible, — for  want  of  something 
else.  He  became  interested  in  the  stories  of 
David,  and  for  weeks  that  boy  read  nothing 
but  the  Old  Testament,  as  he  sat  in  a  rocker 
in  the  back  yard.    And  he  did  not  do  it  for 


66  Boys  of  the  Street 

show,  either.  He  read  because  those  unfa- 
miliar characters  had  suddenly  become  real 
to  him — ^just  as  real  as  the  heroes  of  the  dime 
novel— and  that  is  saying  a  great  deal  for  that 
particular  boy. 

I  sometimes  think  that  we  are  too  much 
afraid  of  innovations.  In  a  certain  Sunday- 
school  that  was  surrounded  by  fully  a  hun- 
dred thousand  children,  the  average  attend- 
ance was  about  three  hundred.  In  spite  of 
every  effort  put  forth  by  devoted  workers 
the  attendance  could  not  be  increased.  The 
workers  were  given  the  liberty  of  holding  a 
meeting  on  a  week-day  afternoon  which  was 
called  a  "Children's  Hour."  A  children's 
choir  of  forty  voices  was  organized,  the 
children  recited  or  sang  solos  and  duets, 
sometimes  the  stereopticon  was  used,  and 
the  pastor  always  gave  a  ten  minute  address 
packed  full  of  gospel,— although  it  was  prac- 
tically a  children's  program.  But— and  this 
was  what  stunned  the  critics — the  children 
also  sang  popular  street  songs  of  the  best 
type.  They  threw  themselves  into  the  sing- 
ing in  a  way  that  threatened  to  burst  some- 
thing, while  the  staid  old  sexton  stood  near 
the  door,  shaking  his  head  and  nervously 
fingering  his  keys.     They  also  sang  hymns, 


Religion  in  the  Club  67 

which  were  stencilled  upon  a  banner,  but 
they  were  not  so  familiar  with  them.  They 
were  street  children — Jews,  Catholics,  and 
those  of  no  religious  faith — and  had  rarely, 
if  ever,  gone  to  Sunday-school.  When  the 
critics  came  to  the  leader  and  remonstrated 
with  him  because  he  allowed  the  children  to 
sing  street  songs  at  a  religious  meeting,  he 
calmly  told  the  objectors  that  it  was  not  a 
religious  meeting,  but  an  entertainment  for 
the  children  into  which  he  introduced  re- 
ligion. They  permitted  ballads  to  be  sung 
at  their  entertainments,  he  said:  why  not 
permit  the  children  to  sing  them  at  theirs  ? 
The  result  of  the  work  was  that  there  were 
fully  twice  as  many  present  at  the  children's 
hour  as  there  were  at  the  Sunday-school,  and 
it  is  not  claiming  too  much  to  add  that  they 
received  as  much  gospel  as  did  the  children 
in  the  Sunday-school. 

But  change  there  must  be  if  we  are  to  reach 
and  hold  the  boy  over  twelve  or  fourteen  in 
the  so-called  mission  districts  of  our  cities. 
If  the  day  stands  in  the  way  of  changing  the 
program  of  the  school  and  introducing  fea- 
tures that  seem  out  of  harmony  with  the 
Sabbath,  it  might  not  be  a  bad  plan  to  change 
the  day  for  the  meetings  for  this  particular 


68  Boys  of  the  Street 

class  of  boys:  possibly  operating  through  the 
boys'  club. 

I  would  not  have  it  understood  that  I  see 
no  mission  for  the  average  church  Sunday- 
school  in  a  home  church.  I  am  nov;'  plead- 
ing for  the  street  boy.  No  Sunday-school 
worker  of  any  experience  will  claim  that  the 
average  Sunday-school  of  to-day  is  making 
much  progress  in  this  kind  of  work.  In- 
deed, our  church  Sunday-schools  are  barely 
holding  their  own,  and  it  is  becoming  a  seri- 
ous question  as  to  what  will  become  of  that 
institution,  great  as  are  its  possibilities  if 
rightly  appreciated. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  has  made  prac- 
tically no  progress  in  the  number  of  attend- 
ants in  its  Sunday-schools  during  the  past 
five  years.  The  twentieth  century  move- 
ment for  the  ingathering  of  a  million  new 
scholars  brought  in  about  five  hundred  thou- 
sand children,  but  it  required  that  number 
to  take  the  places  of  those  who  had  mean- 
time dropped  out  of  the  ranks.  The  same 
thing  is  practically  true  of  every  denomina- 
tion in  this  country  and  abroad.  During 
a  recent  year  in  a  western  city,  20,000 
children  were  lost  to  the  Sunday-schools 
of   that  city.      In  the  same  year,   London 


Religion  in  the  Club  69 

lost   over   30,000,    according    to  a  printed 
report. 

If  the  Sunday-school  cannot  hold  its  own 
among  the  better  class  of  children,  what  may 
we  expect  when  it  comes  to  handling  the 
problem  of  the  street  boy  ? 

Unfortunately,  when  the  average  Sunday- 
school  engages  in  boys'  club  work,  the  man- 
agers insist  that  the  boy  must  attend  the 
school  if  he  would  receive  the  benefits  of 
club  or  reading-room,  with  the  result  that 
the  boy  will  usually  abandon  both  the  school 
and  the  club,  because  the  school  rarely  has  a 
strong  enough  life  of  its  own  to  hold  him. 
Strange  that  the  Sunday-school  worker  does 
not  get  his  cue  from  the  things  that  win  the 
boy  to  the  club!  Not  that  the  Sunday-school 
should  introduce  on  Sunday  the  gymnasium 
or  the  checker  game  of  the  boys'  club,  but 
something  of  the  same  snap  and  spirit 
would  wonderfully  attract  the  wide-awake 
boy. 

Neither  is  the  Junior  Endeavour  Society 
reaching  him.  The  average  Junior  Endeav- 
our Society  is  made  up  of  girls.  When  1 
asked  a  boy  why  he  did  not  attend  a  Junior 
Rally  he  replied:  "Oh,  it's  on  de  bum." 
Analyzed,  his  answer  meant  that  there  was 


yo  Boys  of  the  Street 

only  one  boy  in  the  society  with  which  he 
was  to  go.  The  average  boy  of  the  age 
with  which  we  are  dealing  is  not  attracted 
by  a  society  that  takes  in  both  boys  and 
girls.  The  boys'  club  will  attract  him  be- 
cause it  satisfies  his  natural  instinct  for  the 
society  of  those  of  his  kind. 

One  who  has  had  considerable  experience 
with  boys  recently  said: 

"The  Endeavour  Society  movement  has, 
through  its  great  body  of  enthusiastic  young 
men  and  women,  its  admirable  organization, 
fellowship  and  scope,  and  its  excellent  litera- 
ture, its  wide-awake  leaders  and  its  popular 
hold,  the  best  opportunity  to  attack  this 
problem.  If  these  leaders  would  be  willing 
to  acknowledge  that  possibly  the  methods 
used  for  young  men  and  the  weak  imitations 
of  the  Sunday-school  are  not  always  the  best 
methods  to  use  with  boys,  and  various  clubs 
of  boys  could  be  formed  under  their  shelter 
whose  aim  should  be  to  grow  up  later  into 
full-fledged  Endeavour  Societies,  1  believe 
that  the  Endeavour  movement  would  be 
strengthened,  that  a  large  number  of  excel- 
lent boy  leaders  would  be  provided,  and  that 
thousands  of  boys  would  be  held  to  the 
church  and  the  Endeavour  movement  who 


Religion  in  the  Club  yi 

are  now  drifting  away  for  lack  of  the  right 
touch." 

There  is  no  doubt  that  much  of  this  would 
take  place  if  the  aggressive  members  of  the 
Endeavour  Societies  would  throw  themselves 
into  boys'  work. 

The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  is 
not  reaching  the  street  boy.  The  Associa- 
tion is  too  "  high-toned"  for  him,  admirable 
though  it  may  be  for  the  specific  work  which 
now  engages  its  attention.  "Any  young 
man  of  good  moral  character,  without  regard 
to  religious  belief,  is  eUgible  to  member- 
ship," but  that  does  not  reach  the  street  boy, 
liberal  as  is  this  qualification.  This  is  not 
said  in  criticism  of  that  splendid  organiza- 
tion. I  am  simply  mentioning  a  fact  which 
is  generally  admitted  among  its  workers.  If 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  is  to 
reach  the  street  boy  it  must  establish  separate 
branches  in  the  parts  of  the  city  where  the 
boy  lives,  and  it  must  conduct  the  enterprise 
very  much  as  the  boys'  club  is  conducted, 
although,  needless  to  say,  it  will  not  make 
the  mistake  that  the  average  boys'  club 
makes,  when  it  leaves  out  religion. 

It  seems  to  me  that  instead  of  the  boys' 
club  being  an  organization  from  which  re- 


7  2  Boys  of  the  Street 

ligion  must  be  debarred,  it  really  presents 
one  of  the  finest  opportunities  for  sucii  work. 
In  one  of  the  churciies  that  I  know  some- 
thing about,  there  was  a  chaplain  in  connec- 
tion with  practically  every  club  and  society. 
It  seemed  the  perfectly  natural  thing  to  have 
such  an  officer  in  the  boys'  club  because  of 
this  fact.  The  office  may  be  filled  by  one  of 
the  older  boys,  and  at  the  beginning  of  the 
regular  meeting  he  may  read  a  brief  portion 
of  scripture,  and  he  might  lead  the  club  in 
repeating  the  Lord's  prayer  or  some  other 
prayer  which  may  be  applicable  to  the  club 
and  its  special  needs.  It  is  recognized  by 
the  boys  that  the  chaplain  is  a  regular  officer 
in  the  United  States  army,  and  this  may  be 
made  the  occasion  of  the  introduction  of 
such  an  officer  into  the  club.  It  may  seem 
best,  sometimes,  to  have  an  adult  serve  in 
this  capacity.  If  this  is  done,  and  especially 
if  the  minister  or  an  experienced  worker  fills 
the  office,  it  will  give  him  an  opportunity — 
or  an  excuse — to  give  the  boys  an  occasional 
address  on  religious  matters.  This  office 
should  be  an  elective  one.  If  this  is  so,  the 
boys  will  have  a  deeper  interest  in  the  serv- 
ices of  the  incumbent,  because  he  is  their 
own  creation.     Even  a  circus   recently  ap- 


Religion  in  the  Club  73 

pointed  a  minister  as  its  chaplain.  He  is  to 
constantly  travel  with  the  thousand  or  more 
members  of  the  company.  Why  should  not 
a  boys'  club  have  a  chaplain,  too  ?  Rightly 
presented,  the  matter  will  appeal  to  every 
boy  in  the  club. 

In  some  neighbourhoods  it  may  be  a  good 
plan  to  have  a  mass-meeting  for  the  boys  on 
Sunday  afternoons,  conducted  by  the  chap- 
lain. Attendance  should  not  be  made  com- 
pulsory, but  the  meeting  may  be  made  so 
interesting  that  the  boys  will  want  to  come. 
As  already  stated,  the  study  of  Bible  char- 
acters may  be  made  very  interesting  to  boys, 
and  under  the  direction  of  a  wise  Christian 
teacher,  the  members  of  the  club  may  be  led 
to  take  a  deep  interest  in  the  things  that  have 
to  do  with  religion.  Gathering  together  a 
class  of  boys  who  are  not  touched  by  any 
other  religious  organization,  it  will  pay  to 
put  into  this  effort  the  very  best  that  God  has 
given  you. 


VIII 
THE  CLUBS'  "ESPRIT  DE  CORPS" 

Money  is  not  the  chief  consideration  in 
making  the  club  a  success.  There  is  some- 
thing which  money  cannot  bring  to  a  club, 
and  yet,  without  this  almost  indefinable  some- 
thing, the  club  will  be  a  failure. 

There  is  a  club  in  New  York  which  spends 
five  thousand  dollars  a  year  for  its  work,  and 
it  is  doing  good  work,  too.  But  there  is  an- 
other club  in  a  western  city  with  a  member- 
ship about  twice  as  large  as  the  New  York 
club,  which  managed  to  get  along  on  thirty- 
six  dollars,  and  the  western  club  accomplished 
a  great  deal  of  good,  even  though  the  work 
attempted  was  not  so  elaborate  as  that  of  the 
New  York  club.  The  success  of  the  west- 
ern club  was  due  to  its  esprit  de  corps. 
Every  boy  in  the  club  was  thoroughly  en- 
thused. He  was  intensely  interested  in  mak- 
ing that  club  a  success. 

One  way  to  arouse  this  interest  is  by  having 
the  boys  pay  something  for  the  privileges  that 
they  enjoy.  It  is  a  mistaken  policy  to  con- 
tinually offer  privileges  to  any  class  without 
74 


The  Clubs'  "  Esprit  de  Corps  "     75 

requiring  some  service  or  self-help.  Tiiis  of 
itself  is  an  educative  feature  that  is  most 
valuable.  I  once  had  a  young  men's  club 
which  was  hmited  to  ten  members.  They 
were  all  employed  in  factories  near  the 
church.  The  boys  wanted  a  gymnasium.  I 
told  them  that  I  would  provide  them  with  a 
room,  if  they  would  manufacture  some  of 
the  material  necessary  for  fitting  up  the 
gymnasium,  and  that  I  would  help  them  in 
the  matter  of  purchasing  other  material, 
which  they  could  not  afford  to  buy.  They 
soon  had  a  simple  outfit,  and  I  had  con- 
tributed only  about  ten  dollars.  The  boys 
appreciated  it  far  more  than  if  it  had  been 
given  to  them  outright,  and  it  was  a  pleasure 
to  see  how  affectionately  they  regarded  every 
part  of  that  crude  affair.  It  was  their  own- 
purchased  at  a  real  sacrifice.  The  moral  and 
mental  discipline  acquired  through  this  effort 
was  of  more  value  than  any  physical  training 
they  might  have  received  in  a  more  elaborate 
gymnasium,  and  the  club  meant  more  to 
them  after  that. 

In  some  clubs  there  is  a  small  initiation  fee 
with  regular  dues,  but  these  rarely  amount 
to  more  than  one  dollar  a  year,  payable 
monthly  or  weekly.     Most  boys  can  pay  a 


76  Boys  of  the  Street 

penny  a  week,  and  it  is  a  good  plan  to  have 
the  boys  pay  it  to  the  treasurer  when  they 
respond  to  the  roll-call  at  each  business  meet- 
ing, the  secretary  checking  the  attendance, 
and  the  treasurer  the  amount  of  the  dues  paid. 

The  boys  will  always  be  interested  in  hav- 
ing a  name  for  their  club,  and  it  should  be 
chosen  by  the  members  themselves,  although 
they  may  need  some  help  in  this  matter. 
Sometimes  they  will  be  tempted  to  name  it 
"The  Lily  Club,"  or  "The  Yellow  Kids,"  or, 
perhaps,  "The  Cuban  Avengers."  The 
name,  however,  should  mean  something  to 
the  boys,  and  should  be  selected  because  of 
the  inspiration  which  comes  from  it,  or  be- 
cause it  suggests  the  object  of  the  club. 
Following  are  the  names  of  some  successful 
clubs:  "Success  Club,"  "Young  Ameri- 
cans," "Loyalty  Club,"  "The  Pilgrims," 
"North  Side  Boys'  Club,"  "  Agassiz  Club," 
"Clean  Street  Aids." 

In  addition  to  a  name,  some  clubs  have  a 
motto.  Very  frequently  it  is  a  text  of  Scrip- 
ture. "Our  God,  whom  we  serve,  is  able," 
"Not  slothful  in  business,  fervent  inspirit, 
serving  the  Lord,"  have  been  helpful  to  some 
boys'  clubs.  Other  clubs  have  been  inspired 
by  the  following  mottoes:     "  To  do  the  best 


The  Clubs'  "Esprit  de  Corps"     77 

we  can,  and  to  rejoice  with  those  who  can 

do  better  " ;  "  Progress," 

"  Look  upward,  and  not  down, 
Look  forward,  and  not  back. 
Look  out,  and  not  in. 
Lend  a  hand." 

By  all  means  have  a  club  colour.  When 
there  are  several  clubs  in  connection  with  the 
same  organization,  it  is  best  to  have  a  ground 
colour,  to  which  each  club  may  add  another, 
which  will  distinguish  it  from  the  other  clubs, 
and  yet  indicate  the  relationship.  This  would 
be  especially  applicable  to  the  group  clubs 
which  are  made  up  of  the  members  compos- 
ing a  mass  club.  If,  for  instance,  the  ground 
colour  selected  is  blue,  the  first  club  may 
have  red  and  blue,  the  second  yellow  and 
blue,  the  third  white  and  blue,  and  so  on. 

A  boys'  club  never  fails  to  become  enthusi- 
astic when  giving  the  club  yell.  The  words 
of  almost  any  college  yell  may  be  paraphrased 
for  the  convenience  of  the  boys,  if  it  seems 
difficult  to  secure  an  original  yell.  One  club 
has  adopted  the  following  yell : 

"  Boom-a-lacka !     Boom-a-lacka ! 
Sizz !     Boom !     Bah ! 
We're  the  Young  Americans  ! 
Rah !     Rah  !     Rah  ! " 


78  Boys  of  the  Street 

Some  managers  have  a  genius  for  compos- 
ing club  songs.  Sometimes  they  are  so 
elaborate  tiiat  they  give  the  name,  the  place 
and  time  of  meeting,  the  object  of  the  club, 
the  name  of  the  manager  and  the  club's  admi- 
ration for  him,  and  close  u'ith  an  invitation 
to  attend  the  meetings.  They  are  usually  set 
to  some  popular  tune,  so  that  the  club  can 
master  the  song  in  a  single  evening. 

Songs  for  special  occasions  may  be  easily 
composed  by  some  one  connected  with  the 
club.  In  fact,  some  of  the  boys  will  compose 
quite  a  good  many  songs  themselves  when 
once  the  spirit  of  club  singing  is  aroused. 

Button  badges,  with  the  initials  of  the  club 
name  upon  them,  are  worn  with  considerable 
pride,  and  arouse  much  interest  among  the 
boys  outside  the  club.  Special  ribbon  badges 
for  the  officers  of  the  club  are  sometimes 
worn,  especially  during  the  meeting. 

Membership  cards  are  quite  useful.  In- 
deed, they  are  almost  essential.  They  may 
be  used  as  admission  cards,  and  should  be  left 
with  the  person  who  has  charge  of  the  games 
whenever  a  game  is  borrowed,  so  that  he  may 
know  whom  to  hold  responsible  for  its  return. 
The  card  is  quite  simple,  the  following  de- 
sign answering  all  ordinary  purposes: 


The  Clubs'  "  Esprit  de  Corps  "     79 


No.  ...  ,  1900 

North  Side  Boys'  Club 

Ninth  Avenue,  N.,  near  Washington 

Name 

Address 


The  rules  of  the  dub  may  be  printed  on 
the  back  of  the  card.  These  should  be  few 
and  enforced.  Sometimes  probation  cards 
are  issued,  and  if,  after  a  month's  trial  the  boy 
proves  himself  worthy,  he  is  admitted  to 
full  membership,  and  given  a  regular  ticket. 
Whenever  there  is  a  variety  of  tickets,  they 
should  always  be  printed  on  differently  col- 
oured cardboard. 

Have  public  meetings  open  with  a  salute  to 
the  American  flag,  the  form  of  salute  being 
somewhat  as  follows:  "I  give  my  heart,  my 
head,  my  hand,  to  God,  my  home,  my 
native  land."  This  may  be  followed  by  the 
club  song  and  the  club  yell. 

if  the  boy  can  really  be  persuaded  to  give 
heart,  head  and  hand  to  God,  home,  and 
native  land,  one  could  not  ask  for  more,  for 
this  is  the  sum  of  man's  duty.  The  boys' 
club  is  doing  much  in  this  direction. 


IX 

CLUB  MANAGERS 

A  CLUB  may  have  the  best  appliances  to 
be  obtained  and  an  unlimited  amount  of 
money  with  which  to  push  its  work,  and  yet 
be  run  into  the  ground  because  of  the  incom- 
petency of  its  manager.  The  success  of 
the  whole  enterprise  depends  upon  the  wis- 
dom of  the  man  or  the  woman  who  has  the 
work  in  charge. 

Of  all  kinds  of  social  or  religious  effort, 
the  personal  element  enters  most  largely  into 
boys'  club  work.  It  is  more  attractive  to  the 
street  boy  than  an  institution  or  an  abstract 
principle.  Many  a  so-called  ignorant  mission 
worker  is  having  larger  success  with  boys 
than  some  college  graduates,  and,  probably, 
is  doing  them  more  good,  possibly  because 
he  or  she  understands  them  better.  Because 
one  can  glibly  quote  pedantic  phrases  as  to 
the  social  conditions  of  the  poor,  it  does  not 
always  follow  that  one  has  the  best  grasp  of 
the  situation. 

80 


Club  Managers  81 

Genuine  interest  in  the  boy  is  taken  for 
granted.  It  is  also  assumed  that  the  worker 
is  a  Christian — that  is,  one  who  has  the  spirit 
of  Christ.  And  this  spirit  will  constitute 
the  major  part  of  one's  personality,  and, 
hence,  one's  influence. 

It  is  quite  a  fad,  among  a  certain  class,  to 
take  up  some  form  of  social,  or  even  relig- 
ious work,  and  then  to  drop  it  when  it  is 
found  that  it  means  hard  work,  or  the  exer- 
cise of  brain  power.  The  faddist  is  not  the 
successful  boys'  club  worker.  Neither  is  the 
man  or  the  woman  with  a  "mission." 
There  is  a  seriousness  about  the  work  that 
should  engage  the  best  that  there  is  in  us, 
but  sometimes  the  tremendously  serious  man- 
ner in  which  some  people  seek  to  reform 
others  is  quite  laughable.  And  the  average 
reformer  is  rarely  a  success  in  boys'  club 
work. 

The  successful  boys'  club  worker  has  a 
store  of  humour  which  is  always  at  command. 
Not  that  he  needs  to  tell  funny  stories,  but  he 
must  see  the  funny  side  of  what  would  dis- 
hearten the  average  man.  In  boys'club  work 
the  appreciation  of  a  joke  is  the  beginning  of 
wisdom.  This  sense  of  humour  is  some- 
times quite  as  effective  as  a  policeman's  club. 


82  Boys  of  the  Street 

1  knew  a  young  lawyer  who  undertook  to 
manage  a  room  full  of  boys  who  were  rather 
inclined  to  have  some  fun  out  of  any  new 
man  who  came  down  in  the  capacity  of 
"care-taker."  As  a  rule,  boys  don't  like  to 
be  "  taken  care  of."  The  lawyer  had  rather  a 
serious  face,  anyway,  and  he  was  very  much 
in  earnest.  During  the  evening  an  amusing 
incident  occurred  which  raised  a  laugh  in  a 
corner  of  the  room.  The  care-taker  swooped 
down  upon  the  little  group,  and  administered 
a  rebuke  which  was  worthy  of  a  better 
cause.  In  the  earnestness  of  his  oration  he  ac- 
cidentally struck  a  boy  in  the  face.  Instantly 
every  boy  in  the  room  was  after  him.  They 
threw  him  down-stairs,  and  then  chased  him 
until  he  was  taken  under  the  care  of  a  police- 
man. An  appreciation  of  the  ridiculous 
would  have  saved  him,  and  he  might  still 
be  working  with  the  boys  in  that  club,  do- 
ing effective  service,  because  he  was  really  a 
very  good  fellow. 

It  should  always  be  remembered  that  the 
influence  exerted  in  the  boys'  club  depends 
altogether  upon  the  character  of  the  leader. 
In  the  schoolroom  the  teacher  is  supported 
by  a  certain  well-recognized  authority.  The 
club    manager  has   only   tact  and   force   of 


Club  Managers  83 

character.  But  if  he  has  these,  he  is  sure  of 
his  ground;  surer  than  if  he  had  the  backing 
of  the  most  feared  school  official. 

A  successful  manager  must  be  a  man  of  a 
great  deal  of  enthusiasm.  He  must  have 
sympathy  for  the  boys.  He  must  have 
patience  and  yet  be  firm.  He  must  be  ab- 
solutely honest,  never  making  a  promise  that 
he  knows  he  cannot  fulfill,  and  he  must  take 
a  personal  interest  in  every  member  of  the 
club,  so  far  as  that  is  possible.  He  should 
visit  the  boys  in  their  homes,  and  become 
acquainted  with  their  home  life,  thus  becom- 
ing familiar  with  the  peculiar  situation  of 
each  boy,  and  knowing  far  better  just  how 
to  deal  with  him  than  a  hundred  meetings  in 
the  club-rooms  would  indicate. 

He  may  have  any  number  of  assistants, 
but  he  should  be  present  every  time  the 
club  meets.  Furthermore,  he  should  always 
be  on  time.  There  are  few  things  that  are 
more  demoralizing  in  club  work  than  a  tardy 
manager.  The  assistants  should  arrange  to 
be  present  on  the  same  night  of  each  week 
when  they  cannot  come  every  night,  be- 
cause, in  most  cases,  they  will  be  likely  to 
meet  the  same  boys,  week  after  week;  and 
it  is  only  in  this  way  that  they  will  have  an 


84  Boys  of  the  Street 

opportunity  of  knowing  the  boys  intimately. 
It  is  absolutely  necessary  that  a  warm  friend- 
ship exist  between  the  boy  and  the  manager 
before  the  greatest  amount  of  good  may  be 
accomplished. 

It  is  a  good  plan  to  specialize  the  work  of 
the  attendants,  particularly  when  the  club  is 
large.  Select  one  man  to  look  after  the 
reading  matter,  and  make  him  responsible 
for  it  in  every  way.  Another  might  have 
charge  of  the  games.  This  task  should  not 
become  perfunctory,  but  he  should  make  a 
study  of  his  work,  noting,  for  instance,  the 
effect  of  certain  games  upon  the  boys,  and 
inventing  new  games  for  the  boys  which 
will  be  an  improvement  upon  those  which 
are  being  used  by  the  club.  Still  another 
should  be  delegated  to  see  that  the  room  is 
well  kept,— lights,  pictures,  and  all  furnish- 
ings being  under  his  care.  One  man  might 
keep  a  record  of  the  attendance  of  the  club 
members,  using  a  day-book  containing  the 
names  of  all  of  the  boys,  and  checking  them 
off  as  they  enter  the  room.  In  this  way  the 
manager  will  know  which  boys  will  need  his 
attention.  A  complete  record  book  should 
always  be  kept  by  this  same  man,  showing 
the  name,  address,  age,  number,  occupation, 


Club  Managers  85 

pet,  and  hero  of  each  boy,  besides  other 
points  of  interest. 

This  may  seem  like  spending  a  great  deal 
of  time  in  details,  but  that  is  what  helps 
make  the  club  successful.  The  manager 
should  be  relieved  of  as  much  detail  work  as 
is  possible,  so  that  he  may  give  all  of  his 
time  to  the  individual  boys.  He  may  ac- 
complish more  by  playing  a  game  of 
dominoes  with  that  new  boy  than  he  could 
by  spending  the  entire  evening  giving  out 
the  games  at  the  desk,  although  he  would 
probably  learn  a  great  deal  doing  that,  if  he 
is  a  close  observer. 

The  presence  of  a  refined  woman  who  un- 
derstands boys  will  usually  have  a  good 
effect  upon  the  boys,  although  some  of  them 
may  be  inclined  to  show  off  at  first.  There 
is  no  reason  why  a  woman  should  not  take 
entire  charge  of  the  club.  In  fact,  some  of 
the  most  successful  boys'  club  workers  are 
women. 

The  club-room  attendant  should  remember 
that  when  he  shouts  or  becomes  excited  he 
is  losing  his  grip  on  the  boys,  because  they 
are  not  slow  in  appreciating  the  weakness  of 
which  this  is  a  sign. 

More  important  than  what  is  done  is  the 


86  Boys  of  the  Street 

question  as  to  who  does  it.  It  may  be  a 
boys'  club  or  simply  a  reading-room.  It  may 
be  througli  tiie  evening  classes  or  through  a 
social  evening  at  one's  home  that  the  boy 
will  be  reached.  It  may  be  a  Junior  Republic 
or  a  City  History  Club,  a  League  for  Street 
Cleaning  or  an  Anti-"  Some-thing-or-other  " 
Society.  But  whatever  it  is,  do  not  depend 
upon  the  method.  No  one  has  ever  dis- 
covered an  organization  that  will  universally 
help  boys.  A  mother  of  seven  boys  was 
asked  what  her  method  was,  as  they  had  all 
turned  out  well.  "Bless  your  soul,"  she 
replied,  "1  have  seven  methods."  If  the 
boys  are  to  be  helped,  it  will  be  when  the 
worker  has  made  his  work  a  passion — and 
that  will  solve  almost  any  problem. 

There  is  an  increasing  demand  for  men  and 
women  who  will  make  boys'  work  a  life  oc- 
cupation. 

Mr.  Frank  S.  Mason,  one  of  the  leading 
club  managers  in  this  country,  recently  said: 

"Universities  are  establishing  professor- 
ships in  child  study.  Every  social  settlement 
recognizes  the  importance  of  work  for  boys. 
The  church  and  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  are  laying  out,  and  offering 
greater  advantages  to  the  boy.     All  along  the 


Club  Managers  87 

line  it  is  becoming  recognized  that  the  boys 
of  to-day  are  the  men  of  to-morrow. 

"These  are  hopeful  signs,  and  why  is  it 
not  wise,  at  this  time,  to  suggest  that  this 
position,  with  its  wonderful  opportunities  for 
doing  good  to  humanity,  shall  be  adopted  by 
some  of  the  brightest  young  men  of  the 
country,  as  a  profession  ? 

"There  can  be  no  valid  objection,  except 
that  the  means  of  support  are  so  scanty  and 
inadequate  for  the  conduct  of  the  work,  and 
that  the  basis  of  support  is  on  such  an  inse- 
cure footing.  Every  year,  however,  adds  to 
the  number  of  clubs  that  are  formed,  and  ex- 
tends the  life  of  the  majority  of  those  which 
have  been  previously  organized. 

"The  average  director's  salary  is,  to-day, 
larger  than  that  of  the  average  minister,  and 
it  is  safe  to  say,  without  any  disparagement 
to  the  boys'  club  director,  that  the  education 
demanded  for  the  position  is  not  as  great  as 
is  that  demanded  for  the  ministry.  Certainly 
the  work  does  not  demand  more  from  the 
man,  in  the  way  of  time  or  effort,  and  the 
spiritual  rewards  are  nearly  as  great." 


X 

SOME  GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS 

One  of  the  best  ways  to  win  boys  is  to  be- 
lieve in  them.  The  world  does  not  believe  in 
boys.  Most  people  want  to  get  rid  of  them. 
If  a  window  is  found  broken,  our  first  thought 
is  that  some  "bad  boy"  has  done  it.  I  do 
not  believe  in  making  a  silly  thing  out  of  a 
boy — you  would  not  get  very  far  along  even 
if  you  tried  it — but  1  do  believe  in  giving  him 
the  same  chance  as  a  girl. 

The  standard  set  for  the  behaviour  of  a  boy 
is  what  a  nice,  sweet,  clean  girl  will  not  do. 
The  boy  may  be  wrong,  but  this  negative 
standard  does  not  appeal  to  him.  He  is  not 
very  sweet  or  beautiful;  at  least,  the  boy's 
sweetness  and  beauty  are  not  much  spoken  of. 
The  average  boy  knows  that  his  sister  sins  as 
much  as  he  does,  but  in  a  different  way. 
She  is  selfish,  jealous,  covetous,  deceitful, — 
as  he  is — but  the  sins  of  her  heart  are  not  so 
much  in  evidence  as  the  sins  of  his  mouth. 
Give  the  boy  a  fair  show! 
88 


Some  General  Observations        89 

Study  the  tastes  and  talents  of  the  boy  and 
use  them  in  reaching  him.  A  Sunday-school 
teacher  had  a  boy  in  his  class  who  gave  him 
a  great  deal  of  trouble.  He  finally  went  to 
the  mother  of  the  boy  to  talk  with  her  about 
his  needs.  "  Don't  talk  to  me  about  that  boy,'' 
she  blurted  out,  as  soon  as  she  discovered  his 
mission.  "  I  have  trouble  enough  with  him; 
he  is  a  great  trial  to  me.  Just  come  into  the 
kitchen  with  me  and  see  what  he  has  done 
there. "  The  teacher  followed  the  tired  mother 
into  the  kitchen  and  there  on  the  walls  were 
drawn  pictures  of  animals  and  landscapes  and 
people.  They  were  well  drawn,  and  the 
teacher  saw  the  artist  in  embryo.  He  said  to 
the  mother:  "I  thank  you  for  bringing  me 
into  the  kitchen.  You  have  given  me  the 
key  to  your  boy's  heart." 

Next  Sunday  he  was  at  his  place  with  a  pad 
of  paper  and  a  good  soft  lead  pencil,  and  he 
used  it  in  the  class.  He  wanted  a  map  drawn 
that  day,  and  he  asked  the  boy  if  he  would 
draw  it.  He  said  to  him:  "I  have  learned 
that  you  can  draw.  Just  make  that  outline 
with  the  water  line,  then  draw  these  moun- 
tains and  put  in  these  rivers  and  mark  the 
towns." 

The  boy  did  it;  he  was  a  partner  in  the 


90  Boys  of  the  Street 

concern  that  day,  and  it  marked  the  end  of 
all  trouble  in  the  class  so  far  as  that  particular 
boy  was  concerned. 

There  is  nothing  like  getting  into  the  homes 
of  the  boys  in  order  to  reach  them.  An  in- 
cident which  occurred  during  the  early  part  of 
my  career  as  a  Sunday-school  teacher  has 
often  helped  me  to  bear  with  an  unruly  boy. 
This  particular  boy  had  been  quite  trouble- 
some, and  seemed  to  be  demoralizing  the  en- 
tire class.  1  told  the  superintendent  that  he 
must  be  taken  out  of  the  class.  It  did  not  oc- 
cur to  me  at  the  time  just  where  he  was  to  go. 
I  was  simply  anxious  to  get  rid  of  him.  Dur- 
ing the  week  that  followed  I  called  at  the 
boy's  home,  because  I  was  not  altogether 
satisfied  with  my  own  course.  1  met  his 
mother  and  sisters,  as  well  as  the  boy  him- 
self, and  spent  a  very  pleasant  evening,  noth- 
ing being  said  about  the  trouble  in  the  class. 

On  the  next  Sunday  I  went  to  the  superin- 
tendent and  told  him  that  1  had  decided  to 
keep  the  boy.  I  have  never  forgotten  the 
look  of  pleasure  and  relief  which  came  into 
his  face.  Later,  when  I  became  a  superin- 
tendent I  understood  what  that  look  meant. 
Soon  after  the  boy  came  into  the  class.  He 
had  a  small  package  which  he  handed  to  me 


Some  General  Observations        91 

with  some  embarrassment.  I  found  that  it 
contained  his  photograph.  1  never  regretted 
that  I  held  on  to  that  boy.  Shortly  afterwards 
1  left  the  city,  but  returned  about  ten  years 
later.  One  night,  after  I  had  been  addressing 
several  hundred  young  mechanics  at  a  tech- 
nical school,  a  strapping  fellow  stepped  for- 
ward with  a  smile  to  tell  me  that  he  was  for- 
merly my  scholar  in  that  old  Sunday-school 
class.  He  was  the  boy  who  had  worried  me 
so  sorely  when  I  was  teaching  that  group  of 
New  York  youngsters.  He  was  then  in  a 
good  position,  exerting  a  splendid  influence 
because  of  his  strong,  Christian  character. 

Another  New  York  boy  comes  to  my  mind 
who  was  so  full  of  life  that  somebody  got  up 
a  petition  to  have  him  expelled  from  the 
church  and  the  Sunday-school,  which  he 
faithfully  attended,  in  spite  of  his  supposed 
viciousness.  It  had  been  impossible  to  drive 
him  away  by  hard  looks  and  harsh  words. 
That  boy  and  his  "pal"  stuck  to  the  re- 
ligious organizations,  not  especially  to  engage 
in  their  services,  but  because  there  was  a 
preacher  there  who  seemed,  somehow,  to 
care  for  a  fellow.  However,  the  boys  always 
happened  to  find  the  creaky  bench,  when 
there  was  one,  and  somehow  the  gas-pipe  in 


92  Boys  of  the  Street 

the  outer  hall  had  a  peculiar  attraction  for 
them  while  the  meeting  was  going  on.  Soon, 
there  was  no  light  in  the  hall,  and  a  little 
later  the  people  in  the  church  were  sitting  in 
darkness.  Naturally,  they  were  just  a  little 
vexed.  On  the  evenings  that  the  church  was 
closed,  and  that  meant  every  night  except 
Sunday  and  the  prayer-meeting  night,  the 
boy  "hung  out"  with  the  gang  in  a  milk 
wagon  which  stood  on  the  corner  across  the 
way.  I  have  often  thought  that  it  would 
have  been  a  good  thing  if  somebody 
connected  with  the  church  had  started  a 
boys'  club  for  the  group  that  spent  the  even- 
ing in  that  milk  wagon.  It  is  quite  likely 
that  there  would  have  been  less  mischief  all 
around — both  in  the  church  and  outside  of  it. 

But  that  petition — only  six  signatures  were 
obtained — be  it  said  to  the  credit  of  the  folks 
who  attended  that  church,  so  the  boy  was 
permitted  to  remain.  The  six  people  who 
signed  the  petition  afterwards  came  into  dis- 
repute, and  the  boy — well,  he  became  a 
preacher,  and  some  years  later  he  was  called 
to  become  the  pastor  of  the  same  church,  and 
one  of  the  first  organizations  that  he  started 
was  a  boys'  club. 

Boys  may  be  trusted  to  a  far  greater  ex- 


Some  General  Observations        93 

tent  than  is  generally  supposed.  Never  per- 
mit the  impression  to  go  out  that  the  care- 
taker or  the  manager  is  a  "  policeman."  A 
boy  will  usually  turn  out  to  be  what  you  ex- 
pect him  to  be.  If  you  put  him  on  his 
honour  he  will  rarely  disappoint  you.  If  you 
make  him  feel  that  you  think  he  needs 
watching,  make  up  your  mind  that  you  will 
not  be  able  to  watch  him  close  enough,  for 
he  will  surely  get  the  best  of  you.  The 
average  boy  will  take  excellent  care  of  the 
games  that  are  entrusted  to  him.  The  open 
shelves  of  the  public  libraries  have  been  a 
revelation  of  the  natural  honesty  of  the 
children. 

If  once  you  can  enlist  the  interest  of  a 
group  of  boys,  there  is  no  limit  to  which 
they  will  not  go.  I  know  of  half  a  dozen 
young  men  who  worked  all  night  and  until 
seven  o'clock  the  next  morning,  to  prepare 
the  hall  for  an  entertainment  of  the  club,  and 
then  went  to  work  in  the  shops  in  which 
they  were  employed.  Needless  to  say,  they 
spent  a  good  share  of  the  next  night  at  the 
entertainment.  The  wisdom  of  this  may  be 
questioned,  but  it  certainly  was  an  evidence 
of  the  enthusiasm  and  the  love  which  these 
young  fellows  had  for  their  club. 


94  Boys  of  the  Street 

There  should  be  constant  movement  in  the 
work  of  the  boys'  club.  If  the  enterprise 
lags,  the  boys  will  not  wait  for  it.  Watch  a 
crowd  of  boys  following  a  fire-engine !  There 
is  something  definite  about  it.  It  suggests 
life,  and  duty  and  heroism.  You  can  find 
few  things  which  more  readily  appeal  to  the 
average  boy.  The  club  is  doomed  if  the 
boys  get  ahead  of  it. 

Neither  should  they  be  permitted  to  get 
ahead  of  the  leader.  They  will  sometimes 
attempt  it,  but  after  a  good  square  trial  in 
which  you  have  shown  yourself  equal  to 
them,  they  will  have  the  greatest  respect  and 
admiration  for  you. 

I  heard  of  a  day  school  teacher  who  had 
just  come  to  a  certain  school.  The  boys  in 
the  class  resolved  that  they  would  humiliate 
him.  Coming  into  the  room  one  morning, 
he  found  written  on  the  blackboard:  "  Our 
teacher  is  a  donkey."  He  wasn't  quite  that, 
and  he  proved  it.  Walking  to  the  board,  he 
added  the  word  "  driver,"  and  then  went  on 
with  the  lesson,  without  mentioning  the  in- 
cident. That  settled  the  boys.  They  felt 
decidedly  sheepish.  They  never  again  at- 
tempted to  be  smart  with  that  teacher. 

It  will  pay  to  respect  the  boys.     If  there  is 


Some  General  Observations        g^ 

anything  in  the  world  that  a  boy  hates  it  is  to 
be  treated  like  a  little  boy.  He  thinks  that 
he  is  older  than  he  really  is.  He  certainly  is 
older  than  most  people  think  he  is.  Never 
call  him  "bub."  Did  you  ever  notice  the 
look  of  glad  surprise  that  came  into  the  face 
of  a  boy  whose  name  you  remembered  and 
used  when  you  met  him  only  the  second 
time  ?  It  is  worth  while  to  study  the  names 
of  the  boys. 

Do  not  permit  the  club-rooms  to  become  a 
mere  loafing  place,  and  under  no  circum- 
stances allow  the  boys  to  smoke  in  or  about 
the  building.  While  in  the  room,  every  boy 
should  be  interested  in  a  book,  paper  or 
game,  unless  there  is  some  good  reason  for 
his  lack  of  employment.  A  boy  should  not 
be  allowed  to  change  a  game  until  he  has 
finished  playing  it.  There  is  a  temptation  to 
make  frequent  trips  to  the  game  counter,  in 
order  to  try  all  the  games  in  a  single  evening. 
This  will  be  done  especially  by  the  smaller 
boys. 

Order  should  be  the  first  law  in  a  boys' 
club,  as  well  as  in  heaven.  Boys  really  pre- 
fer order.  They  love  "  the  imperialism  of 
good-natured  firmness."  If  there  is  disorder, 
it  is  usually  the  fault  of  the  manager.     The 


96  Boys  of  the  Street 

cause  of  disorder  is  that  the  boys  have  found 
something  more  interesting  than  you  have 
given  them. 

On  a  cold  or  wet  night  the  furnishings  of 
a  boys'  club  are  incomplete  unless  there  is  a 
coffee-kettle,  coffee  and  sugar  and  milk  in  a 
cupboard,  and  a  little  money  with  which  to 
buy  some  cookies  or  doughnuts.  The  stormy 
evenings  are  the  times  you  can  get  nearest 
the  boys. 

One  of  the  most  vivid  memories  of  my 
boys'  club  days  is  connected  with  the  large 
blackboard  which  was  stationed  near  the 
door,  where  every  boy  would  see  it.  That 
blackboard  had  chalked  upon  it  some  helpful 
mottoes  which  have  gone  through  life  with 
many  an  east  side  boy.  Often  there  were 
simple  rules  of  conduct  "  which  are  observed 
by  every  gentleman,"  we  were  informed. 

I  remember  that  the  rules  were  all  positive 
rules— never  a  "  don't,"  that  1  can  recall,  but 
always  a  positive  "be."  In  that  rule  of  the 
manager  there  may  be  found  a  valuable 
pointer  for  the  boys'  club  worker. 


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